Dropshot (An Eddsworld Basketball AU)
by Lbat1901
Summary: In a high school based setting where technology is the main course, Edd forms a basketball team known as Team PowerEdd that hosts his friends. Along the way they share common interests with a team called the Red Norwegians in hopes of taking down Eduardo and his "friends" who call themselves Team Numero Uno. Get ready for a basketball story. This AU was created by archonedd.
1. Rise of a Phoenix - (Prologue)

Here I am facing my first game of the basketball season with my team known as Team PowerEdd. You may be wondering why and how I came here exactly. Well it's a long story actually. My name is Edd and this is sort of my origin story.

My story begins on in the hot month of July. School ended back in June and everyone is out enjoying there summer, including me and my fellow classmate Corey. I wouldn't say that we were friends, it felt like we were brothers. I first met Corey all the way back in the first semester of school. Of course at the time, I had some personal issues of my own. My father is a strict person trying to get me do what he does for loving. Which is really boring actually, what's even worse is that he, no matter what time of day it was, would call me weak for no reason. I get he tells me this to shape me up for a hard life someday but in reality it just makes me feel terrible. So terrible that I would starve myself.

Okay enough talking about my father. Corey was a cool dude when I first met him. I mean we had a lot in common. We joked, laugh, hanged out with other. He even brought my lunch for me, which was a pretty swell thing to do. The one thing that got my interests was basketball. Sure I seemed a bit addictive to my smartphone so I thought I could take my mind of it, which I did. Corey took me a court which he knew of and showed every single skill of basketball. I swear that i got a brain freeze every time when he brought something up about basketball. Eventually I managed to pick up with all of Corey's moves even having some of own. We made an agreement that if we had enough time at lunch we can go to the court.

So far we've been in every class together including his all time favorite class P.E and to be honest here, this where we first met. One day out the blue, he revealed that he was elected a class president. He even had the grades to prove you it, but despite all this I knew from experience that all nice things will turn into a disaster. I've ignored the feeling for awhile but that's when darkness started to roll in. Oh god where do I even begin? It all started with my father getting his word of calling me weak along with Corey's grades suddenly dropping. I'm not sure which one came first, but upon thinking back to it now, it was Corey's grades. One day, he got an "F" on a test even though it was a class that he knows that he's good in, plus he looked so depressed. How can a guy like him be depressed?

The more I thought about this, the more I didn't realize that my father's words hitter me hard again. Like I mentioned before, I would starve myself which I did. For two straight whole days I didn't eat a single thing; of course nobody cared, till I suddenly got hit in the head by a basketball. Oh yeah, Corey was practicing passing the ball with me. I guess I was too hungry leading me not able to have any reflexes. Once I got hit, Corey asked me if I was okay and out my own surprise I simply told him that I haven't eaten for two days. That made Corey worry a lot and with a lot convincing, I was healthy again, but Corey, he was still a nervous wreak. Poor guy.

As the school year went by and came summer break, Corey called me up and invited me over to his house. I kind,y accepted the offer and went over there. I realize that I was walking into a secret that Corey has never shared with me. When I entered his house, everything seemed normal till Corey offered to go the court to play some basketball, but first he said that had to do something. His parents weren't home at the time. I was waiting patiently for Corey to get back, but after a few minutes of waiting, I got up before something caught my eye. It was a pill canister. Weird. I went over to it and picked up before suddenly getting hit by a train of heavy emotions. All...All this time I knew Corey, he...he had bipolar depression. I couldn't believe it! I stood there in so much shock, so much fear that I couldn't even move or breath. I understood everything now. I thought Corey got busy with being class president that he didn't show up for lunch. I was suddenly interrupted from my thoughts when I heard Corey coming back. I quickly put down the canister before sitting back down on the couch. Corey then enters the room telling that he had something to show me. Of course I said that I will be willing to see what Corey had, but then, Corey pulled out a gun. A black caliber pistol to be exact. He told me that he stole it from his father's safe before telling me that he wanted to die. I was about to protest but Corey gave me the gun and told me to shoot him right in the forehead. I seriously freaked out by this before suddenly telling Corey he should at least do one last thing first, which he did. He went into the kitchen and I quickly hide the gun under cushion that I was sitting on.

Eventually Corey came back and noticed that the gun wasn't in my hand. He asked where I put it and soon I told that he shouldn't kill himself. I literally begged him, but my begging actually made him angry. He yelled to me saying that it was the only way before charging out me. We fought for what seemed like two minutes till Corey had enough with me and pushed me to floor. Corey then runs back to the kitchen as I quickly got up and ran in there as fast as U could hoping to stop Corey. As I came into the kitchen, to my absolute horror, I stood there as Corey stabbed himself right in the chest with a large butcher knife before collapsing soon afterwards. I ran over him and took a couple of dish towels hoping to stop the bleeding. I even had ice, but that didn't help. My focus went to the knife in his hand which was covered in his own blood along with some green substance. I looked over and saw a container that read "Caution: Cyanide poisoning. Do not use" in all caps. I can't believe that he used a knife dipped in high doses of Cyanide poisoning just to kill himself like the knife wouldn't kill him first. I knew at this point that I was too late.

I just sat on the floor with my hands over my eyes crying. I was crying so much that I didn't notice that both of Corey's were right there in the doorframe. I told them what happened and after telling them both, they told me that were given surveillance footage of Corey attempting to get someone to kill him and this all took place during the end of of the first semester. I didn't stay much at Corey's house, but I was invited to his funeral which after Corey's death. I was standing in front of his tombstone as it rain. Corey's mother came up to me giving me a wrapped box.i opened and was surprised to see a basketball. It wasn't just any basketball, it was Corey's. There was a note that came saying: _"Edd, if you're reading this and something bad has happened to me, I want you to keep my basketball as a memory of me. Be strong and always keep playing basketball. Also keep on drinking cola and no matter what happens next, you're world will still be spinning. - From Corey, a friend."_

And this is where my origin starts and keeps going. I'm no longer just Edd, I'm the captain of Team PowerEdd and I will become the basketball king. Oh Corey if you're listening to this from the afterlife, I just want you to know that I'm doing this for you.

"Hey Edd", rang Tom's voice. "The first game of the season is about to start. We need you." "Yeah hurry it up. These guys that we're facing seem a bit pissed off", rang Matt's voice. I get up and walk over to my closet fiends and teammates which consists of Tom, Matt, Tord, Hellucard, Billy, and Marcus. When we got everything that we needed we soon walked out of our locker room and out on the court.


	2. New School Life - (Chap 1)

"Are you ready for your first day of 11th grade?" asked Edd's uncle. "You sure bet I am" said Edd. "Heh, I had a feeling that you would of said that" said Edd's uncle with a slight chuckle. Oh hey an audience. I'm Edward- what's that? Oh they already know who I am. No fair! I had an entire script ready. How can you do this to me? Err anyway, I'm currently on my to Hellscape High, which is where I go to school obviously.

"Alright Edd, we're here. I hope you have a swell first day. Remember, I'm picking you up at 3" said Edd's uncle. "Don't worry I won't forget. Also thanks, I'm going to need it" said Edd. Edd gets out his uncle's car and proceeds to walk to the school's main entrance. Where was I? Oh yes, today is the first- wait I said that already. No...I don't think that I did. Hold up, let me check the script again. "Step aside losers. Your king is coming through" rang Eduardo's voice.

Edd looks up to see Eduardo riding in a wagon, which belonged to a kid who was selling lemonade, as both Jon and Mark pulled him. "Do you speak the English that you hear or what? I said move aside" said Eduardo. The people around him quickly moved to the sides in fear as Jon and Mark kept pulling him. "Eduardo, can we stop please?" asked Jon. "Stop? For what exactly Jon?" asked Eduardo. "My arms and legs hurt" said Jon as he felled to the ground.

"Fine. Mark and Jon take five" said Eduardo. Mark took his hand off of the lever to the wagon and gave Jon a bottle of water as Eduardo took out his phone. Only and if not a single minute passed when Eduardo put his phone back into his pocket and tapped on Mark's shoulder. "What is it Eduardo?" asked Mark. "I just wanted to tell that YOUR BREAK IS OVER! Come on you two, let's go. NOW!" yelled Eduardo. Quickly both Jon and Mark got up and continued to pull the wagon till they got inside the school.

"Man, Eduardo's a bit extra jerky this year. I thought he'll lighten up over summer break. Oh, he never lightens up" said Edd. So after seeing that jerkface treating his friends like slaves, I continued to walk to the school only to see Marcus walking all gangster style. He's some cool looking wearing shades and- oh he can't really hear me since he's in the thug life moment. Anyway let's see what it's like inside. It obviously can't be that bad, right? Oh boy I was so wrong. Once I got made it inside, I was expecting a huge greeting from my friends.

Unfortunately, this didn't happen. Why you ask? That's because everyone in this whole school was on their phones. I mean everyone. "So this is what the future of our generation looks like. It sucks actually" said Edd.

So apparently I have English second hour and we're not doing anything but introductions. The only saving grace of this class is that the teacher had the pleasure into hitting students with anything that she had in her hand. Her name is Mrs. Ashbury and boy, did she live in a time where stupid boxes didn't exist; however, she's a hypocrite herself since she is seen with her phone out. Some nerve you got there teacher. "Yo, Edd" said Marcus. "Marcus? You're in this class too? I didn't know that" said Edd as he was surprised to see Marcus.

"Of course I am. Plus Matt, Tom, Tord, Billy, and Hellucard are here as well" said Marcus. Edd looks to see that all of his friends in the same class. "Oh I didn't even notice considering the fact that they're on their phones as well" said Edd. "Well I wouldn't say all of them. Billy's phone just died" said Marcus. "I was watching YouTube and guess I forgot to charge my phone last night. Ah well I needed a break anyway" said Billy. "Yeah, I agree that you needed one. Besides what is it that's so important that they need to be on their phones?" asked Edd.

"Hellucard, Tom, and Tord are playing Fortnite or should I call it FortWhatever. They sometimes will play PubG which Billy calls it PubGoHome" said Marcus. "Just hear me out when I say this: Fortnite and PubG are great games; however, it gets to the point where it gets down right annoying and don't get started on those ridiculous Fortnite dance memes. I hate seeing 100 FortWhatevers all day long" said Billy. "Let me guess, Matt is taking selfies of himself and posting said selfies on either Instagram or Snapchat?" asked Edd. "Yep, you got that right" said Marcus. On cue, Matt takes another selfie of himself. "Figures that I was right. Can this day end already? I'm already tired" said Edd. "It's almost over. Afterwards there's going to be a school assembly in the gym" said Billy. "Great" said Edd with an unamused tone.

[Later]

All of the students were seen sitting on benches in the gym, most of them complaining or one their phones. I was sitting with my friends till eventually everything grew quiet as someone came to the center of the gym floor holding a microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another exciting year at Hellscape High. I'm the disciplinary teacher and the second head official after the principle. I go by Mr. Smith and uh...there was supposed to be a musical performance but it sadly got cancelled. Dang it Wolfgang, why would you- anyway...meet your teachers. We have Mrs. Ashbury the English teacher, Mr. Adelstein the science teacher, Mr. Beethoven the music teacher who I somewhat mentioned, Dr. Benzschawel the computer sciences teacher, Mr. Fisher the P.E teacher, and finally the three math teachers: Mr. Peterson, Mrs. Brown, and Mr. Wozniacki" said Mr. Smith. "It's Sir Wozniacki, Mr. Smith" said Sir Wozniacki with a thick Polish accent. "Oh yeah sorry about that. I would like to address that I will be in charge of basketball season. If anyone of you would like to join, come to my office. Tryouts will be starting in early October" said Mr. Smith. Basketball season? Alright, something interesting happened today which is great. I can finally start my team known as Team PowerEdd as an oath for Corey. Now I just need to find Mr. Smith's office and I'm good to go.

[At Edd's house]

"Uncle, guess what happened today" said Edd as he very suddenly kicked the door wide open. "Dear lord Edward! You could've just opened the door like a normal person. Ah I'm just kidding. Let me guess, you had a great day" said Edd's uncle. "Yep! There was a school assembly and the basketball season got announced. I will be joining and plus, tryouts don't start till early October" said Edd. "That's great news! You should probably go outside to the court and practice a little" said Edd's uncle. "You're right. I'm going to go outside now" said Edd. Edd walks away from uncle and heads outside to where a basketball court is at. "Boy this takes me back" said Edd.

[Flassssshhhhbaaaccck]

Edd was terrified, absolutely terrified at the sight of seeing his own house covered in flames. "All this time that I lived with them, my father had a home made bomb hidden inside the house. But why, just why would he made a bomb in the first place? I lost my friend Corey like a month ago and now I lost my parents. Can my life get any worse?" asked Edd. Edd then cries despite trying to hold back the tears of lose and grief. The only things that Edd had on with him was his phone, a basketball that once belonged to Corey, and the now haunting memory of the horrid faces of his parents getting burned alive as soon as he got outside before the house exploded in flames. "Hey there" said a voice. Edd looks up to see a man walking over to him.

"H-Hello. Who are you?" asked Edd. "My Edward, don't you recognize me? I'm your uncle" said Edd's uncle. "Uncle? Oh...now I remember you. What are you doing here exactly?" asked Edd. "Well your dad invited over, it wasn't till I noticed that your house is on fire" said Edd's uncle. "Yeah...my dad actually had a home made bomb in the house. It has been hidden for years" said Edd. "Of course my little brother had a thing with explosives. Anyway...I'm guessing that you need a new home. How about you live with me and your cousin" said Edd's house.

"I have a cousin? I mean cool" said Edd. "Alright then. Hop onto my motorbike" said Edd's uncle. Edd gets onto the back of the motorbike before he got a helmet handed to him. "Oh yeah safety first" said Edd. Edd puts the helmet on before Edd's uncle drives the motorbike till the reached the hills. "That was amazing! I've never been on a motorbike before" said Edd.

"Really now? Well you did. Anyway, I'm Anthony Dyland Goldenstein and yes it's a namesake" said Anthony. "Cool! Say, nice fountain you got there" said Edd as he was pointing at a fountain that was decorated with swans. "Oh that. I didn't make that. You see my grandma made it in 1933. She really loved swans; she would often call them as nature's greatest beauties" said Anthony. "That's nice" said Edd. "Thanks. Here let me show my, well our, house" said Anthony. Anthony walks up to the front door and unlocks before opening it.

Inside the house looked a mansion. "Wow, this is amazing. I like it" said Edd. "Don't mention it. Here let me give the grand tour in a form of a song titled Coming Around The Mountain. Ooooooh...we got the living room area right here, we got the kitchen right behind it. I have a WTFuture poster on fridge, I also have a poster of Fun Dead that I need to put up. Right past is the are the stairs leading up to the second floor. Up on second floor we got the master bedroom which is me. We also have the master bathroom which is mine. Then there's your cousin and across the hall is your room. And finally ending down the hall is my studio. I'm a professional photographer and take the best photos ever. And that is the end of tour" said Anthony as he catching his breath. "That was interesting and honestly I really had no idea what just happened, but I understand where everything is" said Edd. "Dad, I'm home. What's for dinner?" said a voice that seemly came from downstairs. Anthony goes over the railing and looked down to see a young man.

"Oh hi son. How was practice?" asked Anthony. "It was good. What are you doing?" asked the boy. "I'm giving your cousin a tour. His house got blown up so he's living with us" said Anthony. "Oh really?" asked the boy. Anthony's son then noticed Edd who was standing next to his father. Edd comes down and greats his cousin. "Why hello there, I'm Edd and you must be my cousin" said Edd.

"Well I'm technically your brother now. I'm Alexander Dylan Goldenstein, but you may call me Alex for short. I'm a junior photographer who's taking a scholarship in college" said Alex. "It's nice to meet you Alex" said Edd with a smile. "Hey dad, did you show him the basketball court outside yet?" asked Alex. "No I haven't" said Anthony. "Wait...there's a basketball court outside in the backyard?" asked Edd who was surprised. "Yeah there is! Here let me show you it" said Alex.

Alex leads Edd outside to the backyard and to Edd's surprise he saw a green basketball court with black outlines and in the center it had a lion wearing a crown on its head as decal. It also featured the words "Team PowerEdd never loses" on a black ribbon above the lion. "No way, this is so awesome!" said Edd. "Thanks. Both me and my dad play basketball together. Also I'm a referee" said Alex. "That's nice. Speaking of which, I'm planning on joining the basketball season at my school" said Edd. "Say now, that's great! I might be the referee in one of your games. I promise that I won't be too hard on you" said Alex. "Thanks man, I appreciate it" said Edd.

[Flashback Ends]

"Oh how times have changed. Now if I was a team captain, what would I name my team? Aha! Team PowerEdd of course. All I need is Tom, Matt, Tord, Hellucard, Marchs, and Billy to agree into joining and we're all good to go. I wonder who else will be joining" said Edd as he started to wonder who else will be joining his team.


	3. Get Your Workout On (Chap 2)

"Joshua are you insane!? You just can't call in a basketball season like this" said Mr. Adelstein. "Oh my god we've been over this like a thousand times Fred, but it's for the best" said Mr. Smith. "And we've been over this with you as well, there is no way you're going to get a while group of boys to join a sport that requires a lot of running and movement" said Mrs. Ashbury. "Says the person who smacks kids with rulers and goes onto her own phone without a care in the world" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Exactly my point! Thank you Roderich" said Mr. Smith. "On the topic of phones, the more these fine and marvelous students pay attention to them the more troubles for us. It's so bad that I can't teach classics such as Turkish March" said Mr. Beethoven.

"Oh come on Gilbert, it's not that bad. Just give it time for them to play less attention to those devices" said Mrs. Brown. "That's just it. We're fighting phones not students. The only reason why I want a basketball season so it get these kids active" said Mr. Smith. What happened next was a couple of laughters from the teachers expect for Mr. Fisher, Mr. Beethoven, and Dr. Benzschawel. "Why are guys laughing!? This is serious" said Mr. Smith. "Serious? How can we take you serious when that's your plan?" asked Mr. Adelstein. "When are you going to be serious yourself Fred?" asked Mr. Peterson as he suddenly came into the room.

"Richard, you're late" said Dr. Benzschawel. "That's because we were stuck in traffic" said Sir Wozniacki as he came in right after Mr. Peterson. "Oh I see. At least you made it just in time for me to almost give out an entire explanation about the issue on phones" said Mr. Smith. "That's what I was hoping to hear actually. You do realize that you're not the only staff in the building that has noticed this problem Joshua. As the fourth chairman and heir successor to the Wozniacki family line, it really hurts me to see a generation attached to glowing screens of plastic. If my father was here instead of living his life with so much wealth of vaction spots, he would so disappointed. I can say the same for my grandfather and my great grandfather as well" said Sir Wozniacki. "So...what are you trying to say exactly, Roderich?" asked Mr. Smith. "Dear Joshua, I'm telling you, well asking, to at least save the future of youth. I want you to do everything in your power to free them from those stupid whachamacalit things" said Sir Wozniacki. "I swear on my behalf that I will get these kids to get of their stupid boxes and as the youngest staff in this school it will be my duty" said Mr. Smith while putting a hand over his heart. "Good now we got work to do. Speaking of which, Mr. Fisher, you have a class that's starting in ten minutes" said Sir Wozniacki. "Right. I will get these little pipsqueaks to do basic P.E stuff" said Mr. Fisher.

[Again back in Chapter 1, the screen turns black with the word reading "Dropshot" in the style of the Eddsworld intro]

Alright Edd, you came to school earlier for a reason. You need to find the office of this Mr. Smith. How hard can it be? Short answer very hard considering the fact that I've been standing in front of a bulletin board for like ten minutes. "Hmm, I'm not really seeing anything that screams basketball season at me" said Edd. God I wasn't expecting finding something could be this hard. Maybe if I try finding a large sign. "Oh hey, maybe this sign reading "basketball season sign ups" might be what I'm looking for" said Edd as he found a sign that said exactly what he said. Edd goes over to the sign and write his name on one of the spaces with a pen that was a,ready attached to it. Edd then proceeds to write his friends names as well, making sure that it's as close to their handwriting as possible. "There we go. Now let's see if Mr. Smith's room number is- ah, Room 204a. That's up on second floor. Alright, I think I might have some time before class starts" said Edd. Edd turns to look at a clock that's about five minutes away from class starting. "Oh my god, I'm going to be late" said Edd. Edd then rushes towards his P.E class. Luckily the gym was on the main floor where he first walked in.

[At P.E Class]

P.E class hasn't started yet allowing the students to have free time- on their phones. The only people who weren't on their phones were Edd, Marcus, and Billy. "So you're joining the basketball season?" asked Billy. "Yeah I am. I even came to school earlier to see if I can find Mr. Smith's office" said Edd. "That's great! Did you find him?" asked Marcus. "No I haven't. I was having a hard time finding anything that says basketball season on it till I saw a large sign on a bulletin board" said Edd.

"Bulletin board? Oh, I think you mean the one that you see when you first walk in right" said Marcus. "Yeah that one" said Edd. "Is there any reason why you want to join the basketball season?" asked Billy. "Well remember when I told you about my experience of losing Corey? I actually made a promise to keep following my dreams. I also want to find a away to get everyone off their phones and be active" said Edd. "That's actually a good reason. Speaking of which, Billy and I decided to destroy our phones" said Marcus. "Nice! Say do you guys mind if you would like to join the basketball season with me?" asked Edd.

"Are you kidding? Of course we do" said Billy. "We got your back Edd. Don't forget it" said Marcus. "Alright that's the spirit! Now if we can get Tom, Matt, Tord, and Hellucard on board than we would be unstoppable" said Edd. Marcus was about say something till loud banging can be heard just before the doors to the gym were suddenly flung wide open. Edd, Billy, and Marcus looked towards the doors to see a man with brown hair and a beard walking into the gym. Surprisedly he was wearing black and orange shorts that seem a little small on him, but the man was muscular.

"Alright you sorry excuses for learners, welcome to your first day of P.E. I'm Mr. Fisher and I'll be teacher" announced Mr. Fisher. "He seems a little bit too harsh, but that's what a P.E should be" said Billy. "Yeah, but I don't think he'll be that bad of a teacher unless you want to count Mrs. Ashbury" said Edd. "Um excuse me? I'm talking here. You should be paying to who's speaking to you in a well respective matter" said Mr. Fisher. All the students weren't listening to a word on what Mr. Fisher was saying and instead they were on their phones. "Very well then. Be that way" said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith walks to his office and a few seconds later he came out with a box before going down a line forcefully taking away phones. "I'm going to beat you Tom" said Tord. "Oh no you don't" said Tom. "Hey guys, I'm going to beat you both if you two don't shut it" said Hellucard. "Oh yeah, not unless I beat- hey! That's my phone that you just took. What's wrong with you man?" asked Tord. "There are only two main rules in my class. One rule no talking and second get off your stupid boxes" said Mr. Fisher.

Mr. Fisher then takes both Hellucard and Tom's phones before standing in front of the students. "Now as I saying before I was so rudely interrupted, once you're in this gym, there are no stupid boxes and there's no swearing. For the past 20 years, I haven't sworn in front of a kid. Now if I were to ever swear in front of any one of you, then you guys can swear all you want. But for now this is a PG-13 zone not a rated R zone. Got it?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yes Mr. Fisher" said all of the students. "Good. Now everyone go and line up on the black line, which is right here" said Mr. Fisher as he went to stand on the black line. All the students got up and walked over to the black line. Eventually all of them were standing in one straight line as Mr. Fisher walked past them all before suddenly hearing the clicking sounds of camera.

The clicking sounds came from Matt who apparently hide his phone in one of his short pockets. "Oh I'm so beautiful" said Matt. Matt was about to take another selfie till his phone got taken away by Mr. Smith. "What did I say about having stupid- what the heck is this thing that you're on?" asked Mr. Smith as he caught a glance into what Matt was doing. "That sir is known to be the most amazing app in all of existence. It's called Instagram" said Matt. "Oh I see. No more of your Instagramcrackers" said Mr. Fisher as he put Matt's phone into the box with the other phones.

"B-But how am I suppose to show the world what I'm capable of?" asked Matt. "That's simple. You're running laps from here all the way to the end of gym and back to where you started. Let's go!" said Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher blows his whistle as everyone started running.

[A Few Minutes Later]

"Congratulations, you all completed the first task for today. All I have to say is that you all were terrible. Just terrible" said Mr. Fisher. All the students were on the ground or leaning against a wall catching their breath due to not running enough. "My legs hurt so badly" said Tom. "Why is running so difficult?" asked Hellucard. "I don't know about you, but I didn't have any problems with it" said Tord. "Uh huh. If you're so sure about that, than why are you laying on ground on your back?" asked Tom. "That's none of your concern Tom!" yelled Tord. "That was a great workout. I'm a little out of shape, but it's a start" said Marcus. "Yeah, if we're joining the basketball season, we need to do some serious workouts" said Billy. "Agreed! We don't need to be weak like Matt over there is" said Edd while pointing to a very tired and exhausted Matt who was laying the ground out cold. "Yeah you're right. Billy and I will get together after school to go workout" said Marcus. "Sounds like a plan" said Edd.


	4. The Appealing - (Chap 3)

"Just a little more and done. Finally I'm all set for students coming into my office. I'm really excited. Now time to over the checklist. Signs leading to my office, check. Paper work, check. A smile on my face, check. Alright I'm all set. I, Joshua Smith, have declared that the basketball season sign ups are...wait for it...open!" said Mr. Smith. "Heh, nice little presentation you got there Frank" said Mrs. Brown as she came around the corner. "It's Joshua, Debbie. When are you going to get my name right?" asked Mr. Smith. "I'll probably get it right when you stop playing around with that stupid blue thing" said Mrs. Brown. "Blue thing? First off spying on a person is wrong and second, how dare you" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah you tell her Josh!" said Mr. Beethoven.

"Put a sock in it, Gin! You weren't even in this conversation to begin with" said Mrs. Brown. "How many times do I have to tell you this? It's Gilbert! Oh great...thanks to you, I'm angry now" said Mr. Beethoven. "And? So? Does it look like I care?" asked Mrs. Brown. "I'm going back to my classroom just so I can play the piano in anger" said Beethoven. Mr. Beethoven turns to leave before Mr. Smith goes inside his office just to avoid from talking to Mrs. Brown even more. "Thank god, I got out of there. I would of gotten quite pissed off considering that Debbie can be such a total bit- no Joshua, you're not taking your anger out. You just need time to yourself in your office that's all" said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith goes over to his desk and pulls out a binder containing photos that were taken throughout his lifetime. Mr. Smith looks over the photos and shortly afterwards, he gets up and goes into his personal closet. A few minutes later he comes out wearing a Future Tom cosplay. "Let's test this visor out, shall we?' said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith presses a button on one of the sides of the visor making it scan the surrounding area before picking up Edd who suddenly popped out of nowhere. "Oh my god, it's Future Tom and say that's the same laser pistol that you've used. Wait don't say anything. I can't believe this that I'll see the actual Future Tom standing before me in the flesh. I am trying my hardest not to explode in happiness and excitement. Can I get your autograph?" asked Edd.

"Woah, easy there. It's a cosplay. I'm actually Mr. Smith the coordinator for the basketball season. I'm also the disciplinary teacher" said Mr. Smith. "You are? Oh sorry, I really like Wtfuture. No I love it" said Edd. "Same goes for me. So I'm guessing you're here to sign up for the basketball season, right?" asked Mr. Smith as he took off his visor and placed the laser pistol on his desk. "Yes I am" said Edd. "Great! Can I get your name please?" asked Mr. Smith. "I'm Edward Goldenstein. I also want more forms to sign my friends up as well" said Edd.

"Say no more. I got you covered" said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith pulls out the sign up forms and gives them to Edd. "Make sure to turn in all of those forms to me by Friday okay" said Mr. Smith. "You got it Mr. Smith. Basketball season here I come!" said Edd. Edd gets up and the leaves the office. "What a nice boy. I like him. He'll a great Future Edd someday but for now, score one for me. Take that Debbie" said Mr. Smith.

[At The Goldenstein Residence]

Like on the first day of school, Edd kicks the front door open. "Alex! Anthony! I got exciting news!" said Edd. "Oh hey Edward, you're home already?" asked Alex as he walked up to Edd. "Guess what Alex? I got the forms to join the basketball season. Can't you believe it?" asked Edd. "Oh wow! That's amazing! You're going to need a lot of basketball related stuff" said Alex. "I know right? I already have a list. It's about three miles long" said Edd. "Oh. I see" said Alex.

[Meanwhile]

A few miles a way from Hellscape High, a old well can be been seen on a hill. However if one were to go in it, they will be taken in underground system of tunnels. At the end of it main path, two doors are present. Opening them up reveals a large underground gym built right underneath the school. The gym is colored green and black, but it's most noticeable features will be a large scoreboard and it's gym floor features a wolf howling. A poster can be seen by one of the lockers that has a wolf drinking from a can of diet cola while holding up an index finger indicating the number one. "Are you guys done waxing the floor yet?" asked Eduardo. "Yeah we are" said Mark. "Good. I like to announce that the entire gym of Team Numero Uno is now complete" said Eduardo with a smile on his face. "So we're joining the basketball season?" asked Jon. "Of course we are! I want to show the entire school who's Numero Uno and I'll, I mean we will become the greatest players in all of history. Nobody won't be able to stop us!" said Eduardo before laughing evilly.


	5. Basketball Shopping - (Chap 4)

It was still Wednesday meaning that Edd has time go shopping. Basketball shopping of course. But where to start in a town this big? "There's got to be a store around here somewhere that's sports themed, but all I'm seeing is basic stores" said Alex. "Ooh, I found something!" said Edd. "What is it?" asked Alex.

"Some store that seems to sell books and other things" said Edd. "Oh wait, I know this store. It's the Arcanda Galaxcia" said Alex. "Woah, that's cool! I bet they sell basketball related stuff" said Edd excitedly. "They don't actually, but they do sell books about how to form a team and all of that basic knowledge" said Alex. "Great! Might as well save this store for later. Now if I was a sports store where would I be?" asked Edd. "Uhh...probably two buildings down from Arcanda Galaxcia which we're already at" said Alex.

"Oh. I see. Why are we standing here for then? Let's get shopping!" said Edd. The two walk down to the sports shop and proceeded to walk into it only for Edd to get excited at the many sport related things. "Oh my...it's way beautifuler then I can ever imagine" said Edd. "I don't think it would be the same in any other way" said Alex. "Is this really happening? Pinch me I must be dreaming" said Edd. "Well...okay then. Anyway can you tell me what you need?" asked Alex.

"According to my list, I want a basketball for Team PowerEdd and- wow, you actually got it. Neat!" said Edd as he saw Alex getting a ball. "What's next?" said Alex. "I need like a sports outfit and basketball shoes" said Edd. "Already got that taken care of" said Alex. Alex shows off the shoes which were green and had white outlines. "Wow, you're fast, but uh...what about the outfit?" asked Edd.

"Oh. It's right here" said Alex. Alex shows off the outfit, the first being the shirt. The shirt was black with a green tint. It had orange highlights for both of where the neck and sleeves are. Alex then shows off the shorts which were also black but had some white at the waistline. "Whoa, these are awesome! I love the colors" said Edd.

"I'm glad that you. Oh and here's the team basketball" said Alex. Alex shows off the team's basketball which was green and grey. It also had a lightning bolt in the center of green circle as a logo. "Oh my god this is amazing! Okay we got the basketball, plus the shoes, and the outfit. Hmm...I thought that this store would have those Nike shoes that are highly advanced" said Edd. "What shoes are you talking about Edward?" asked Alex. "I'm talking about those Airjets. Every famous basketball player have them" said Edd.

"Oh, you mean those. Well...when we first walked into this store, I saw them on a display table" said Alex. Edd takes the moment to look around for the Airjets and he found them in the area where the most expensive shoes are at. Edd goes over to the display table and looks at the price tag before quickly letting go of it when he realized that the price for them were a whopping £600. "What's wrong Edward? You seem a little nervous" said Alex while coming up beside Edd. "I'm fine. It's just the price" said Edd. "£600? That's not a problem considering the fact that I actually brought way more than that with me" said Alex.

"Really? You mean it?" asked Edd. "Of course I mean it. I'm your big bro" said Alex. "Thank you so very much" said Edd while smiling. "Uh I hate to break it to you both, but uh those are sold out" said a worker who walked up to them. "Wait what? If they're sold out then, how come you got them up on display?" asked Alex. "Well here at the Emporium Sports Centre, we don't sell the stuff that's on display" said the worker.

"Oh. Who bought them all anyway?" asked Edd. "A team known as the Psycho Wolves" said the worker. "Cool! Are those guys from the UK?" asked Edd. "No, they're from America. They are known as one of the best teams in the country" said the worker. "When did they ordered all of the shoes exactly?" asked Alex. "Basically they're team captain was the first one to buy them when they were first released here. They decided to ship them overseas" said the worker. "Oh I see. I hope the Psycho Wolves are using them well. Also I think that this should be enough" said Edd. "Alright. Let's get you checked out" said the worker.

[Two Hours Later]

"You look stupid with that outfit on and to make things better, we've talked to a psychic and she said that visor that's covering yours eyes look stupid " said Eduardo. "I thought she that we were stupid" said Jon. Eduardo takes a deep breath in as he looked at Jon. "I'm going to punch you in the face if you don't shut up" said Eduardo. "First off how rude, second control your behavior, and third you do realize that I need to leave the school right? Oh and what do you want?" asked Mr. Smith. "You know what we what" said Mark.

"Technically I don't actually" said Mr. Smith. "Don't play games with me, you idiot of a disciplinary teacher. We're here to join the basketball season" said Eduardo. "I see. Very well. Just let me get out the papers for you" said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith goes into a desk drawer and pulls out the papers that are labeled "basketball season sign ups". "Here you go. Remember to get these signed and give them back to me by Friday" said Mr. Smith. "Oh how about we give them to you know?" asked Eduardo.

"You can't be serious. There is no way that you can get these papers back to me within a limited timeframe" said Mr. Smith. "Too bad we just did" said Mark. "We practiced day and night on how to forge signatures. We managed to forged our parents's signatures as well" said Jon. "You do realize that's an illegal move since you're all minors, right? Nice try" said Mr. Smith. Suddenly out of nowhere, Mr. Smith gets a Swiss Army knife pinned to his neck by a seemly angry Eduardo. "Listen to me carefully because I am only going to say this once, no matter how much you try, you're not going hold us back. Do you want to know why?" asked Eduardo as he pressed the knife against Mr. Smith's neck at every word he said. "Let me guess you, you want to show everyone in this school that you're the boss right?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yeah that, but it's because I'm Numero Uno and don't you forget it" said Eduardo. Eduardo then pulls the knife back from Mr. Smith's neck and goes back standing in front of both Mark and Jon. "I think we've reached an agreement, right Mr. Smith?" asked Eduardo. "Yes...we have. Welcome to the basketball season" said Mr. Smith. Eduardo begins chuckling evilly at this as both Mark and Jon joined in as well.


	6. Team Building - (Chap 5)

"Hey what is that green thing with the silver on it?" asked a random student. "That's a mother board for a computer. Don't touch it. It might break" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Why?" asked the student. "Just don't. Next question" said Dr. Benzschawel. The same student who asked about mother board raised their hand again. "Yes?" asked Dr. Benzschawel.

"What's with the long white labcoat? I thought this was computer sciences class" said the student. "Listen, I'm aware that you have a million questions and yes, I know that some of you don't know anything about computers nor knowing the science that's involved with it. I am aware that this is a labcoat and what I'm holding in my hands are wires and circuits to computers. I am also fully aware that since I'm wearing glasses and that I'm an adult human male, I am able to tell whether or not that an overgrown flea invested mule is a donkey. End of discussion" said Dr. Benzschawel. "But you didn't answer my question though" said the student. "I said end of discussion. So uhh...anymore questions?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "Oh, I have something, but it's not a question. It's an announcement" said Eduardo. "An announcement you say? Very well then. You might as well stand up" said Dr. Benzschawel.

Eduardo grins at this and stands up as Jon and Mark took it as a signal and stood up as well. "Attention you worthless losers and subjects, it is I, your king, bringing you a very special announcement. I, along with Jon and Mark, have decided to join the basketball season by forming a team. A team known as Team Numero Uno. We will be unstoppable. Isn't that right Jon?" asked Eduardo. Jon quickly jumps a bit as he looked at Eduardo before quickly looking down. "I said isn't that right Jon?" asked Eduardo this time a bit sterner. "Uh yes Eduardo. You're right. You're very right indeed" said Jon as he ended his sentence with a small evil chuckle. "God you're so useless. I want you dead" mumbled Eduardo. "Okay. Is that all?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "Not quite. Care to explain Mark?" asked Eduardo. "With pleasure. For years we've been under your thumbs but now we can finally rise to top and make you all pay" said Mark. "Uh huh. That's cute" said Dr. Benzschawel.

[After Computer Sciences]

Mr. Smith was in his office looking at the paperwork that was forcefully given to him by Eduardo and his goons. "I can't believe you actual did this Eduardo. Just why would you do it?" asked Mr. Smith. As Mr. Smith was looking at the papers, he suddenly heard a knock at his door. "Come in" said Mr. Smith. The door opens up revealing a paranoid looking Dr. Benzschawel. "Roderich? My god...you don't look so good" said Mr. Smile while looking at Dr. Benzschawel.

"Of course I don't look good, Josh. Oh god...oh my god...I came here after letting my class go just to tell you that we have a problem" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Problem?" asked Mr. Smith. "I had the students ask questions about what they will be learning along with having them stand up to the class telling everyone who they are and what they like doing" said Dr. Benzschawel. "And? So? It sounds normal to me" said Mr. Smith. "It was normal alright, a bit too much. However, I had three students share something. I wish I didn't hear it to be honest" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Three students? Hmm...I think you mean Eduardo, Jon, and Mark" said Mr. Smith.

"Yes, you're correct. They actually shared that they will be joining the basketball season hoping to make everyone in the entire school respect for some unknown reason, which I don't really care for" said Dr. Benzschawel. "I see then. Those three think that scaring everyone is going to make them powerful. Oh Eduardo, what are you planning?" asked Mr. Smith. "I believe that if we don't do something, then everyone including the teachers and staff wouldn't be able to stand up to the corruption that's about to come" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Yes, that I can agree on. What if I were to tell you that there is a student that can help us?" asked Mr. Smith. "Really? Who is that student, Josh?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "The student that I speak of is a kind hearted and yet eager person known as Edward Goldenstein" said Mr. Smith.

"Edward Goldenstein? Oh, I actually have him for my class on Wednesdays. That's sweet!" said Dr. Benzschawel in excitement. "Of course it is. Edward even told me that he's going to get his friends to join in as well" said Mr. Smith. "Alright! And oh, I do have all of his friends in the same class with him as well" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Perfect! I like it. Shall we discuss more of this at the Arcanda Galaxcia later tonight?" asked Mr. Smith. "Ah yes we should! I'll meet you at our usual meet up time which is 7 p.m." said Dr. Benzschawel. "Very well. See you later, Roderich!" said Mr. Smith.

[Meanwhile]

"Guys! I have exciting news!" said Edd. "What is it?" asked Billy. "I got us all signed up for the basketball season!" said Edd. "Awesome! Did you get the paperwork?" asked Marcus. "Of course I did. I even got you all a copies of it so you guys can get them signed" said Edd. "Thanks! So what are we going to do about them?" asked Marcus.

"Them?" asked Edd slightly confused. "Them as in the four people sitting at our table being on their stupid boxes" said Billy. "Oh yeah those guys. Well I suppose we can try to get them to pay attention" said Edd. "Yo Dominic, Edward got us the paperwork for the basketball season. Are you in or not?" asked Billy. And of course Hellucard wasn't paying attention since he was on his phone playing FortWhatver with Tord and Tom. "Naneun igeos-eul eolyeoun gillo hal pil-yoga issdago saeng-gaghanda (I guess I need to do this the hard way)" said Billy.

Billy pulls out his phone and joins in the match that Hellucard, Tom, and Tord only to destroy them in the game very competitively and unfair. "Hey! I just got my butt kicked by some guy. How did they beat me? That's no fair!" yelled Hellucard. "Oh relax man, it's not that bad. Here let me...annnnddd I got killed by a headshot. How lame" said Tom. "Guess I'm last one standing. Sweet! That means I get to- are you serious!? That person came out of nowhere and killed me directly! How did I not see that on the map to begin with?" asked Tord. "Maybe if you were pay attention more then you would've won. I mean that by getting off your phones" said Edd. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Oh hey, are those forms for the basketball season?" asked Tord.

"Yeah they are. Why are you asking?" asked Edd. "Well it's because me, Thomas, and Dominic were talking about it all summer" said Tord. "Really now? What if I were to tell your hat I signed us all up for it?" asked Edd. "No way that's amazing. I suppose we can all join" said Hellucard. "Great! Oh Matthew, I have some- where did he go?" asked Edd. "Uhh he went over there just to take selfies near those hand painted murals" said Tom. Matt was seen standing in front of the murals taking selfies and even more selfies. "Sore honki? Kono aijō no aru shōga o dō yatte nattoku sa seru nodeshou ka (Are you for real? How are we supposed convince this self loving ginger)?" asked Marcus. "I guess we have to wait for a moment to come" said Billy.


	7. Surprises Aren't Nice - (Chap 6)

After the school day ended, Matt returns home only to be greeted by his mom. "Oh Matthew my little lamb, how was your fourth day at school?" asked Matt's mother. "It was an indubitably fine day. Well if you want to count the fact that slipped on spilt milk at lunch, but that's the only downside" said Matt. "Oh dear that's awful. I'm glad that you're alright" said Matt's mother. "Aww thanks mom! I love you" said Matt with a smile. "And I love you too. Oh, your father wants to give you something" said Matt's mother.

"Oh really? Where is he?" asked Matt. "He's in his reading lounge right now. I need to go do some earrings. I'll see you for dinner" said Matt's mother. "Okay mom, take care" said Matt. Matt's mother soon walks out the door to do the earrings as Matt proceeds to meet his father in his reading lounge. Once entering the room, Matt's father was seen sitting in chair reading a book while a cup of tea was sitting right next to him on a small table. "Dad, I heard from mom that you have something for me. Is that true?" asked Matt.

"Of course it's true. I'm a honest man after all" said Matt's father as he looked up from his book to face his son. "Yay! What is it? What is it? What is it?" asked Matt as he was bouncing in joy. "Whoa take it easy. I heard from your disciplinary teacher today. What's his name again? Oh yeah, Mr. Smith. Anyway...he asked me if you would like to join the basketball season. I'm sure that your friends will be joining in as well" said Matt's father. "Oh yeah. I think I heard something...sorta" said Matt. "Anyway...I signed the paperwork and you should be good to go. Mr. Smith said that he wanted the forms back on Friday and that's basically tomorrow" said Matt's father. "Okay. Is that all?" asked Matt.

"Well...I took the time off of my regular working schedule just to get you a pet" said Matt's father. "Really? Finally, I can actually get my dog" said Matt. "That's right! It's outside right now on a leash by its newly bought doghouse" said Matt's father. Matt couldn't hold in the excitement anymore and immediately bolted out of the room, down the stairs, and went outside in the backyard. However, the joy boost stopped once Matt laid his eyes upon a possum which was laying on its side. "Where's the dog? Why is this possum here?" asked Matt as he continued to stare at the possum.

Matt then notices a stick on the ground before going over to it and picking up as he came back to the possum. Matt then proceeds to poke the possum very slowly yet gently. Once the stick touches the possum, the possum suddenly gets up and hisses angrily at a very terrified Matt. "Oh sorry! I thought you were dead...hehehe..." said Matt with a nervous laugh. The possum didn't like Matt's laugh and lounged at him with its fangs showing. "AHHH! NOT THE FACE!" yelled Matt. The possum manages to take down Matt and use its claws to attack Matt even attempting to go for his face.

[Meanwhile]

"Eduardo, I got our outfits ordered. They will be coming in the next two days" said Mark. "Perfect! Did you get our workout equipment, Jon?" asked Eduardo. "Yes I did. It should be coming within two weeks" said Jon. "Two weeks? I thought I told you to tell the people running the company to get those shipped to us within one week" said Eduardo. "Oh! I think I told them to take their time" said Jon. "You did what!? Every time when I tell you do something you always screw it up" said Eduardo as his angry was starting to boil up. "I'm sorry! I'm going to fix it, I swear" said Jon. "You better or else you're going to get a well deserved beating from me. Got it?" asked Eduardo. "Yes Eduardo. I'm going to do that right now" said Jon. "And that's how you get a useless idiot to do things right. Now what time is it?" asked Eduardo. "It's 4:30" said Mark. "Oh I see. Hand me my container of Benzodiazepines" said Eduardo. "You got it" said Mark.


	8. Friday Funday - (Chap 7)

"Happy Friday everyone. I hope everyone enjoyed the first week of school. Today, we will go over the first fitness test. Any questions before we start?" asked Mr. Fisher. "Yeah I have one. Why do we have to do this?" asked Tom. "Oh that's simple. The reasoning why is because you youngsters spend way too much time on social media such Twatter, Idiotbook, SnapCrap, and Instagramcrackers" said Mr. Fisher. "Okay, but what about YouTube?" asked Tord. "YouTube? What is that?" asked Mr. Fisher. "You don't know what YouTube is? It's the most amazing thing ever created! You can find everything on it" said Tord.

"Oh really? Can you find anything about why you're into your stupid boxes instead of running laps?" asked Mr. Fisher. "Uhh...I don't think there is" said Tord. "Too bad, I'm making it up. Go run laps" said Mr. Fisher. Mr. Fisher blows his whistle as everyone started running. Both Tord and Tom were forced to do extra five laps while everyone else did ten. Surprisingly Matt was the first one to get done Iless than five minutes.

"Whoa, Matthew finished first" said Hellucard. "Yeah, but he's not being narcissistic about when he's talking to Mr. Fisher" said Edd. "You did great Harken" said Mr. Fisher. "It's Harrison, but uh, thanks. You know, I have been in my own world for a really longtime now. I have decided to get rid of my old ways" said Matt. "Impressive. He's using big words and placing them in full complete sentences" said Tom who was amazed. "Huh, I wonder what got into him?" asked Tord.

[After P.E]

After P.E had ended, Edd goes to see Mr. Smith in his office. "Ah Edward, good to see you again. How are things going?" asked Mr. Smith. "Pretty swell. Oh, remember when I asked you if I can get the paperwork to join the basketball?" asked Edd. "Oh yeah I recall it. Did you get them signed?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yep, I sure did. I even got my friends to sign them as well" said Edd. "That's great! Do you mind giving them to me?" asked Mr. Smith. Edd nods as he got a out a binder and took out the paperwork, each of them not crumbled up. Edd then hands them over to Mr. Smith. "Thank you so much for returning them back to me" said Mr. Smith. "You're welcome. So...when is tryouts exactly?" asked Edd. "Oh, well, tryouts are on...ooooh, let me look at a calendar for a quick sec. Ah, they're in October" said Mr. Smith while showing Edd the calendar. "Oh I see. What day in October?" asked Edd. "It's on the 11th and it's after school. So be sure to show up exactly at 4 o' clock sharp" said Mr. Smith. "I see. Thanks!" said Edd.

[At The Goldenstein Residence]

Anthony was seen sitting in a recliner in the living room reading a book till Edd suddenly kicked the front door open with a smile on his face. "Welcome back Edward! By the large happy smile on your face, let me guess, you got accepted for the basketball season, right?" asked Anthony. "Yep! Tryouts for it will be starting on the 11th of October. This gives me enough time to practice" said Edd. "That's great! Say, I hope you don't mind if I take pictures of the team before and after you games" said Anthony. "Sure! Of course! Are you and Alex going to come to the first game of the season when it gets announced?" asked Edd. "Yes we are. I mean why wouldn't we? I'm sure Alex will be thrilled to be one of the referees" said Anthony. "Awesome! Well, I better head outside and train then" said Edd. "That's good. Be sure to back inside for dinner" said Anthony. "Don't worry, I'll be back" said Edd.

[Outside With Edd]

Edd was standing on the basketball court in the backyard looking at distance between him and the basketball. "Alright, I should be far enough from the basket. Let's try for a three point shot" said Edd. Edd dribbles the ball twice as he took a breath in before running towards the basket. Edd dribbles the ball as he got closer and closer to the basket. Edd then attempts to make that three point shot...only for the ball to miss and bounce of the rim. The ball kept bouncing up and down on the ground as Edd couldn't believe what he was seeing. "I missed? How did I miss? It was clearly a perfect shot. What the- oh wait...I didn't jump. Hmm..let me try that again" said Edd. Edd picks up the ball and tries to make a three point shot, this time he jumps and he successfully makes the shot. "Much better" said Edd.


	9. The Rivalry Split Up - (Chap 8)

[Time Skip to October brought to you by three guys doing a obligatory building montage scene. Please send help...they don't know what they're doing and they're kinda just making a mess. We now go back to your regularly scheduled program]

It was at quarter to 4 pm as Edd stepped foot into the gym. There he saw his friends sitting on the benches along with other people sitting elsewhere. "Oh hey Edward, you made it" said Tord. "Hey Tord, so I'm guessing that everyone got here early right?" asked Edd. "We sure did" said Tord with a smile. "Great! Mr. Smith did said that we have to here at 4, but we all got here before it. I'm sure he'll be proud" said Edd. After a few minutes, it was finally 4 and Mr. Smith enters the gym.

"Thank you all for coming on time. I'm quite impressed actually. Anyway...welcome to the first meeting of Hellscape High's basketball season. Here all you will learn to how work together as a team and learn cooperation skills to become successful. Now with that out of the way, let's get right into roll call. First up on list, Edward Goldenstein" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Edd. "Okay good. Next, Thomas Richardson" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Tom. "Matthew Harrison" said Mr. Smith. "Here and oh, you actually got my name right. Yay!" said Matt.

"Of course I did. A name is a name. Anyway...Tord Fun Larckin" said Mr. Smith. "You actually said my middle name, I'm so happy! Oh and uh, here" said Tord. "Oh I figured that you'll be so happy if I said it. Next Dominic Devereux" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Hellucard. "Taskashi Nagasaki or better known as Marcus" said Mr. Smith. "I'm here and I'm ready for action" said Marcus.

"Gotcha. Next, Seung Jun-ho or also known as Billy" said Mr. Smith. "Like Marcus said, I too am ready for action" said Billy. "I like the sound of that. Next Patryck" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Pat. "Paul" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Pau. "Yuu Tan" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Yuu. "Yanov" said Mr. Smith. "Here" said Yanov.

"Alright, moving on. Eduardo" said Mr. Smith. "Oh you know I'm here. I'm always here. Ain't that right, boys?" asked Eduardo. "Yeah that's right. Oh and don't bother calling our names out, we're already here" said Mark. "That's right" said Jon. "Okay then...with all of that done, let's get ready for a successful season" said Mr. Smith. "Whoa, hold on there for a sec. You did said that all of us will be working together as a full team correct?" asked Eduardo.

"Yeah I did. Why are you asking?" asked Mr. Smith. "I'm just asking this just to let all of you that you're all a bunch of losers. No wonder why you guys don't have backbones" said Eduardo. "Backbones? What are you talking about Eduardo?" asked Pat. "Yeah, what makes you the leader anyway?" asked Yanov. "Oh I'm sorry. Did I hurt your feelings or something? Well I hope I did, because you're all going to be joining Team Numero Uno" said Eduardo. "Yeah right, like we will ever join a team with you in it" said Yuu.

"Hey, hey, hey, easy there. There's no need to be arguing. This is no time for this" said Mr. Smith. "Nah, it is time for arguing. I've been expecting to hear this, just like how I planned it" said Eduardo. "Planned? Are you...no, you can't be serious" said Edd. "Oh but I am..._Edd_" said Eduardo. "You...You actually planned this the whole entire time!? You actually wanted us to argue just so we all join your team? What is your problem!?" asked Edd. "My problem? Oh I think you mean your problem. Listen here loser, I'm numero uno. You're just second place and always will be" said Eduardo.

"Not unless we have anything to say or do about it" said Tom. "Very well then. Have it your way. I tried to give you an opportunity and look where it went. All of you are going to fear the name Team Numero Uno once we destroy you on the court" said Eduardo. Eduardo motions for both Jon and Mark to walk with him out of the gym. "Talk about some nerve" said Yuu. "Oh my god this is not good" said Mr. Smith. "What are you talking about? Of course it's good. Eduardo and his goons just left meaning that we can continue the basketball season without them" said Billy.

"Yeah that my be true, but at what cost? I was expecting a large formation of a team, but instead I got three who swore revenge" said Mr. Smith. "Oh...that is bad" said Billy. "What do you want us to do now, Mr. Smith?" asked Matt. "I never thought it had to come to this, but I want there to be two separate teams. Two teams that can stand up against Team Numero Uno" said Mr. Smith. "And how are we supposed to do that?" asked Tord. "Everything needs a little something. What I mean by this is inspiration" said Mr. Smith.

"Inspiration? From where exactly?" asked Tom. "I want you to study the moves and strategies from an already existing team. That team would known as the one and only Psycho Wolves" said Mr. Smith. "Whaaaaa-...the Psycho Wolves? You mean the those guys who ordered Airjets from here in the UK?" asked Edd. "Yes Edward, those guys. I have a feeling that you may know them" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah I do. Those guys are an American team, don't know which state they're from, but they're amazing" said Edd. "Of course they are. Here, follow me for a couple of minutes" said Mr. Smith.

[In The Teachers Lounge]

"Whoa so this is what the teachers lounge looks like. I always imagined that it was a huge room. How come students aren't allowed in here?" asked Tord. "That's because if you were to come in here then everything would be chaotic. Plus, I'll lose my job if I do that; however, only me and the principle are in the building" said Mr. Smith. "So why did you take us here?" asked Pau. "I just want to show you this video. So please pay attention to the large screen, which we use to watch movies or have staff meetings" said Mr. Smith. "Hmm...a screen that's about the size of a large flatscreen tv. I like it" said Marcus. "Thanks! I'm glad that you like it. Now be amazed at Psycho Wolves" said Mr. Smith.

Mr. Smith presses play on the computer that's hooked up to the screen. The screen displayed a live news channel with the words "high school sports corner" along with the words "Sacramento vs New York".

"Good evening, I'm Ashley Freeman" said a woman reporter. "And I'm Scott Perrelli" said a man who was sitting next to Ashley. "Tonight is the night where two high school basketball teams face off in the national finals for the chance to win gold" said Ashley. "You heard that right folks, teams around country compete every year to earn the title of best team. This year has been a year where the competition is stiff. We now go right into both Freddie Nielsen and Mason Devenir. How's it going you two?" asked Scott. "It's going great Scott!" said Mason. "The big game is currently hosted here in New York state right in the heart of New York City" said Freddie.

"Yeah, but does Sacramento have what it takes to beat the Psycho Wolves on their home turf?" asked Scott. "That we don't know. However, we heard that the students on the team have never been to New York before so they don't know what it's like here" said Mason. "Really now? Well that's shame" said Scott. "I know right!? New York is like one of great places in the entire country and those Sacramento students have no idea what they're getting into" said Mason. "That's why the Psycho Wolves took some time out their usual daily training hours to put together something as a halftime show; however, it's not in the middle section of game. Instead it's before the game actually starts" said Freddie. "That ain't a bad idea. Is there a name for the Sacramento team?" asked Scott.

"Oh yeah that's right. We forgot to mention. Hehehe...they're called the Sacramento Night Hawks and they came all the way from the beautiful state of California in the west all the way to the east" said Freddie. "Yep! Oh and it looks like the show is about to begin. Let's get a look shall we" said Mason. The news camera took their focus off of Freddie and Mason just to to get a glance at the court as music started playing right before the giant screen where the scoreboard is at, picks up a person who's sporting a spike helmet on their head along with a demon bandana covering their mouth while wearing a long black cape. The person is also shown to have purple neon streaks around their eyes and face. The person twirls around a bit as they throw off their cap revealing the official Psycho Wolves jersey which is colored purple with black outlines mixed with silver before going to behind a couple of people.

New York

The most marvelous state

Built from a time of exploration

Proud and divine

New York

The torch of the Statue of Liberty glows

Even through times of harshness

Sparking it shines

And every night, night, night there is magic

Oh every night, night, night there is fun

And every night, night, night there is laughter

Here's to you brother, hey, brother, ho!

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

New York, New York, take a trip here

And have you'll have an amazing time

Ho ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, New York, join us for New Year's Eve

We'll go dancing till midnight

Ha ha ha ha ha ha - hey!

New York, New York, exploring Town Square all day long

Keeps you happy, makes you busy

Ho ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, New York, come and have a drink of wine

You will leave with a smile on your face

Ha ha ha ha ha!

New York

A land of the past

Mirrors the 13 colonial era

Was the spot of the Revolution

N-N-N-New York

Burns in our souls

Its love burns

Hot like fire

Everyone, hey, hey, hey, raise your glasses

Hey hey

Manhattan, ha, ha, ha, you are beautiful

Ha ha

Empire State Building, hey, hey, hey, you are mighty

Hey, hey

Here's to you Sacramento, hey Sacramento ho

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

New York,New York

Come join the fun

New York is a blast to visit

Ho ho ho ho ho, hey

New York, New York

Hope you'll enjoy your stay

The nights are also lovely here

Ha ha ha ha ha, hey

New York, la la la la la la la

La la la la la la la

Ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, la la la la la la la

La la la la la la la

Ha ha ha ha ha

Oooooooo, ooooooooo, oooooooo, ooooooo...

New York, New York!

New York, New York, let us take you to Niagara Falls

You'll be captured by its charms

Ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, New York, we will make you understand

New York is a wondrous place

Ha ha ha ha ha!

New York...New York...

And every night, night, night there is magic

Oh every night, night, night there is fun

And every night, night, night there is laughter

Here's to you brother, hey, brother, ho!

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

New York, New York, take a trip here

And you'll have an amazing time

Ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, New York, join us for New Year's Eve

We'll go dancing till midnight

Ha ha ha ha ha - hey!

New York, New York, exploring Town Square all day long

Keeps you happy, makes you busy

Ho ho ho ho ho - hey!

New York, New York, come and have a drink of wine

You will leave with a smile on your face

Ha ha ha ha ha - hey!

"And we're ending it here. So any thoughts?" asked Mr. Smith. "I got one. How in the world can they dance like that?" asked Tom. "Did I just saw Akali from League of Legends right before my very eyes?" asked Tord. "Who's that?" asked Matt. "Matt, I'm shocked! Akali is this cool looking yet deadly female ninja. She's even an assassin" said Tord. "Uhh...I'm not sure if you blind or not, but that was actually a guy" said Hellucard.

"Say what now?" asked Tord. "You heard him Tord. That was actually a male" said Tom. "Tch...of course I knew it was a guy! It was clearly obvious. Look, I have nothing against girls playing basketball. They're quite good to be honest and I respect them" said Tord. "Yeah whatever" said Tom. "How and where did they get the knowledge to put on a show like that while looking fantastic?" asked Matt. "Those are really good questions. Here's an answer, they spent a lot of their time working together" said Mr. Smith.

"Uh huh. So the message here is teamwork and collaboration, right?" asked Billy. "Yep! With teamwork you can do anything. I want you to take notes from the Psycho Wolves and learn what makes them great" said Mr. Smith. "I get it now. After putting on a show like that, did they ended up winning?" asked Edd. "Yes they did. The game even went into overtime which rarely happens to them, but they've managed to overcome it" said Mr. Smith. "Sweet!" said Edd. "We hate to break up this happy moment, but if there's going to be two teams, shouldn't we not have one team to learn basic moves on? If Edward's team is planning on studying the Psycho Wolves then my team should be studying another existing team" said Pat.

"Wait a minute, since when was it your team?" asked Pau. "Oh I'm sorry Pau, you weren't there for the voting. If you were team captain, then thing would be chaotic. Don't me started on the many things that you did that turned into a disaster" said Pat. "Good point" said Pau. "What you said was exactly true. Hmm...maybe you should have your team study the team from Sacramento" said Mr. Smith. "But didn't they lose?" asked Yuu. "Yeah they did, but it's no excuse on why they couldn't make it to the national finals" said Mr. Smith. "Very well then. We will study the basic skills of the Sacramento Night Hawks, but in the meantime we will be discussing our team name" said Pat. "Sounds good. I hope you guys will agree on something" said Hellucard. "Oh we will" said Yanov.


	10. Practice Till You Drop - (Chap 9)

"Okay since we've learnt about the current state of the basketball season, let's start practicing" said Edd. "Good idea! What will we be practicing?" asked Tom. "Thomas, you've forgotten already? We're supposed to study the Psycho Wolves" said Billy. "And to do that, we're going have to learn about what makes them so great" said Marcus. "Alright! Thanks Billy and Marcus. Anyway what is the first thing that you noticed about them?" asked Edd. "They perform a show before a big game" said Matt.

"True, but there's more to that" said Edd. "They have a player that dresses up as my favorite character from a video game" said Tord. "Well...uhh...I wouldn't say that, but close enough. Although Mr. Smith hasn't shown us how they play basketball, I'm sure that they do training" said Edd. "That's right, Edward! I have a feeling that those guys must do a lot of heavy weight lifting if they're able to show off some cool dance moves" said Marcus. "That does make sense. I think we should do some of their workouts, but with heavy weight lifting equipment" said Billy. "It's settled then, we're doing weight lifting" said Edd.

The boys soon got work with studying the number of weights that the Psycho Wolves actually have...and of course there were some problems. "Why on earth are these weight lifting equipment so ugly? I mean look at them...they're so old and rusty looking. Eww..." said Matt. "Matthew, the reason why the equipment looks so unappealing is because they're supposed to be that way" said Hellucard. "But why though? It's so disgusting kinda like that person in that poster that's up on the wall" said Matt as he was pointing to a poster that had Future Matt on it. "Oh come on Matthew, it's not that bad. You can be like that guy with robotic arm and burns scars wearing a cool looking uniform" said Tord while pointing at poster that had Future Tord on it with the words "Red Leader". "No, he can look like the guy with the visor covering his eyes" said Tom while pointing to a poster that had Future Tom on it [A/N: Geez that's a lot of WTFuture references that were mentioned].

"Guys, stop arguing! I'm trying to lift this dumbbell, yet you're too loud" said Hellucard. Hellucard attempts to lift up the dumbbell but couldn't no matter how much he tries. "What gives!? I should be able to lift this without any trouble" said Hellucard. "The reason why you can't lift it is probably because you got too many weights on it. Why not you start small" said Billy. "Oh yeah? Well tell to the guy who is doing like 100 reps in one go" said Hellucard. Marcus was busy with a streak of reps hoping to break a record depsite having his muscles ache as his own sweat was dropping from his body and slowly hitting the floor of the weight room.

Of course to top it all off, Marcus was shirtless during the entire time, plus you can hear his bones cracking, but not in a bad way. "Whoa, he's good" said Tord. "Heh, Marcus is always good at attempting to go beyond his own limits when it comes to weight lifting" said Billy. "Way to go Marcus! Now it's time to practice my punches" said Edd. "What are planning to use your punches for exactly?" asked Tom. "I'm planning on using them just punch Eduardo in the face. I'm most likely to punch him right in his jaw and break a couple of teeth in the process" said Edd.

"Oh I see. Mind if I join you?" asked Tom. "Oh I would love to, but this is my personal thing. You should work on building up your muscle mass. I don't want you to become Matthew" said Edd. "Ow! My arms!" yelled Matt as he attempting to do the barbell. "Easy Matthew, remain calm" said Hellucard. "Okay, I'm being calm. I can feel the pain!" yelled Matt as the barbell was starting to lower on him. "Don't panic, it will make it worse" said Hellucard.

"Okay...AHHH! ITS STARTING TO CRUSH ME!" yelled Matt as the barbell was close to his chest. "I said don't panic, that's the last thing that you'll do. Try to relax" said Hellucard. "Okay, I'll do that. AHHHH! ITS ON ME! ITS CRUSHING MY EVERY FIBER OF BEING! ITS CRUSHING MY HEART! MAKE IT STOP!" screamed Matt as the barbell was now sitting on his chest. "Stop moving around! If you do that then its going to crush you more" said Hellucard. "ITS BURNING ME! ITS TOUCHING ME! ITS BEING COLD ON ME!" yelled Matt as he squirmed around but it only made the barbell put even more pressure on him. Eventually Hellucard manages to get close enough just to lift the barbell up with the support of a panicking Matt.

"Oh my god...it's finally over. I can finally breathe again" said Matt. "Yeah...you sure can" said Hellucard. "145...146...147...148...149...150!" said Marcus as his finished his reps with a barbell that had a lot of heavy weights on it. "Yay Marcus! How did you managed to do 150 reps with weights that heavy?" asked Tord. "Long story short, before I came to Hellscape High, I did my fair share of workouts with some clients" said Marcus. "You have clients!?" asked Tord who was surprised.

"Yeah I do. Every once in awhile I get together with them and do extreme workouts at a gym" said Marcus. "Gee no wonder why you seemed a bit impressive when you lifted weights that heavy" said Tord. "Oh that? Nah, that's nothing. I am able to lift weights that a way heavier then the ones that I just used" said Marcus. "That is so cool!" said Tord while a smile on his face. Marcus smiles as well before Pat came into the gym. "Oh hey Pat, what's up?" asked Edd.

"Nothing much. What are you doing in that boxing ring?" asked Pat. "Oh I'm just practicing my punches. If I ever come across Eduardo in a dark alleyway, I'm going to straight up punch him unexpectedly" said Edd. "Sounds nice. Anyway, we have decided on a team name. Come right on in with the banner you guys" said Pat. Pau, Yanov, and Yuu came into the weight room with a large banner. Pau helps both Yanov and Yuu with the banner before he goes to stand right next to Pat. "Hey, you used Norwegian for your banner. Mind if I help translate it into English?" asked Tord.

"Sure, but we already got the translations already" said Pau. "Oh I see. Continue on" said Tord. "Right...during your training with weights, we have decided on our team name and through many wasted minutes of arguing, we finally agreed on something. Presenting Team Red Norwegians!" said Pat. "Nice name! Where there any heated debates?" asked Billy. "Not really. I originally wanted our team to be called Norwegian Reds, but someone had to tell me tat it didn't sound right...*coughsPatcoughs*..." said Pau. "Seriously? I'm standing right here you know" said Pat.

"Awesome! I see that your team logo is a black eagle. What does it say below it?" asked Marcus. "It reads "together we stand and fight, we unite as one" in Norwegian" said Yanov. "Cool! Nice use of those words" said Tord. "Thanks! So Edward do you have team logo?" asked Yuu. "We have a lightning bolt with a green circle behind it" said Edd. "No not that. I meant do you have a logo for your gym floor?" asked Yuu.

"Gym floor? Oh yeah we do! It's a lion wearing a crown on its head with words "Team PowerEdd never loses". Technically my uncle helped with the design" said Edd. "I see. That's cool. Oh by the way, we received a massive update from Mr. Smith" said Pau. "Really? What did he say?" asked Marcus. "Well he said that's he proud of us for helping him at a time like this, which is great to hear. Though...he told us about the Homecoming game" said Pat. "Homecoming game? You mean that there will be a game during the entire week of Homecoming week?" asked Tom. "Well I wouldn't say during the entire week, he said that there will be a game to start off the season" said Pat.

"Cool! I hope we're the two teams to start the season off" said Edd. "About that...we're not going to be playing against each other unfortunately" said Pat. "Oh I see. So when's Homecoming week exactly?" asked Edd. "According to the school's official calendar, Homecoming week will be on October 16th" said Yanov. "October 16th? But that's next week! Oh no, I need to sign myself up for Homecoming royalty before its too late" said Matt. "Matthew relax, it's not the end of the world" said Tom.

"But it is! If I don't enter it, then how would anyone acknowledge that I exist?" asked Matt. "Oh geez..." mumbled Tom. "So if Homecoming is scheduled for next week, then we seriously need to start practicing on our skills" said Hellucard. "Right! Listen up, I want you all to meet me at the park tomorrow, Saturday, at 11 am. Don't let anyone follow you. Got it?" asked Edd. "Got it. But here's the thing, what if we are being followed. What should we do?" asked Tord. "That's simple, you're going to deny, deny, deny" said Edd. "You mean we're going to lie, lie, lie?" asked Tom. "Yes, that's what I mean" said Edd.


	11. First Game Royale Pt 1 - (Chap 10)

It was 10:58 am almost nearing that 11 am mark on nice sunny Saturday. Everyone kept up to their promise to meet Edd at the park that they always meet up at, all expect for Matt. "I see that everyone actually made it on time. Has anyone seen Matthew?" asked Edd. "No not really" said Hellucard. "I think he texted me that he would be a bit late since he's in a hurry to enter Homecoming royalty" said Tom. "Fair enough" said Edd.

[A Few Minutes Later]

"Sorry I'm late! I had to spread the message that I am running for Homecoming king and by that, I had to get someone to release flyers from a plane" said Matt. "Well okay then. We're glad you're here. Take it away Edward" said Billy. "Alright since we're all finally here. We need to practice before the big game. Everyone please follow me to the court" said Edd. Everyone soon follows Edd around the park until they came across the court. "I never knew that there was a basketball court in this park" said Tord. "Now you know" said Marcus.

"Before we begin, does anyone of you, expect for Marcus and Billy, know anything about basketball?" asked Edd. "Oh I know what basketball is" said Tord while moving his hand around. "What is basketball Tord?" asked Edd. "Basketball is a sport where we kick the ball around until we get it into the goal" said Tord. "That's football" said Edd. "Oh. Let me try again. Basketball is a sport where tackle people to the ground, throw the ball to each other, and score a touchdown" said Tord.

"That's American football" said Edd. "Oh really? Okay, I think I got it now. Basketball is a sport where we hit the ball with a bat that's being pitched to us and we run to three bases before making it to home plate" said Tord. "That's...baseball. That's not even remotely close to basketball" said Edd. "Here let me try. Basketball is that thing that we see in the movie Space Jam, right?" asked Tom. "Yep! Can you explain to me what they do in Space Jam in that scene?" asked Edd. "Uh...there's two teams where there's ten players, five on each side, that duke it out on the court. They attempt to score by throwing the ball to the thing that's called...a hoop" said Tom.

"Bingo! That's what basketball is. Now does anyone of you know what dribbling is?" asked Edd. "Uh...maybe" said Tom. "Nope" said Matt. "Nuh uh" said Hellucard. "I think I know how to, but...I've never tried" said Tord. "Oh boy, that's a problem" said Marcus.

"Looks like we need to teach these four how to do the basics" said Edd. "Gotcha. I'm on it. Okay, since none of you don't know how to dribble, I'll be teaching you. I'll start with you Matthew" said Billy. Billy throws the ball Matt, but Matt wasn't paying attention causing the ball to hit him directly in the face. "OW! My face! My beautiful face!" yelled Matt. "Whoops! Sorry Matthew. Yo Thomas, heads up" said Billy. Billy this time throws the ball to Tom but it ends up hitting him straight at his stomach.

"Ow...my stomach. That actually hurts" said Tom. "Sorry! Tord it's your turn, show me what you got" said Billy. Billy throws the ball to Tord and Tord almost had it, but if barely touched his fingers. The ball rolls to the other end of the courts as Tord chases after it. "Get back here ball! You're supposed to be in my hands. Stop moving!" yelled Tord. "Oh god...well this is going to take awhile" said Edd.

[Five Hours Later]

"Okay those were some painful hours, but we're all good now, right? Right?" asked Edd. "Yeah we are" said Hellucard. "Since you guys now know how to dribble, should I help you with throwing the ball into the basket?" asked Billy. "Sure. I'll go first I guess" said Tom. "Very well. Stand right there on that line" said Billy. Tom goes over and stands on the line as Billy stands in front of him while dribbling the ball.

"Okay, now what?" asked Tom. "Try to take the ball from me" said Billy. "What?" asked Tom sounding slightly confused. "I said take the ball from me" said Marcus. Tom makes an attempt to take the ball from Billy and he was actually successful when doing as he ran right past him. "Wait...do I keep running?" asked Tom.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Billy comes by Tom and steaks the ball before making a dunk at the basket. "Not bad for a beginner. After practicing within a two to three week-span, you will master stealing the ball from an opponent" said Billy. "Okay...what does that mean exactly?" asked Tom. "He means is that you will master the skills of offense" said Edd. "So I'll playing offense?" asked Tom. "Yes are you Thomas. Matthew, you will be playing defense" said Billy.

"But I can't be on defense. I never thought of hurting anyone before" said Matt. "You won't be hurting anyone, you're just going to be a distraction" said Billy. "Oh I see. I will use my charms to distract anyone" said Matt. "What position am I in?" asked Tord. "You're going to be one who makes the first move. So you're starting us off" said Billy. "Alright!" said Tord. "I guess that I'll be doing what Tord's doing" said Hellucard. "Great! With that out of the way, that shall do it for today" said Edd.

[Friday - The Day of the Homecoming Game]

"Now I will be passing out the assignment for molecules. I hope you all were paying close attention to what I was saying" said Mr. Adelstein. Mr. Adelstein goes around the room passing out the assignment. "Uh Mr. Adelstein, how do you want us to do this?" asked a student. "Use the periodic table that I gave you. With it, you can learn what molecules they are by chemical" said Mr. Adelstein. "Edward, what's HO?" asked Matt. "That's Hydrogen which is H while O is Oxygen" said Edd. "I see. Thanks" said Matt. All the students worked hard on their assignment before an announcement was heard over the intercom.

_"At this time, students should head for the gymnasium once the floor that they're on are called. Teachers please make sure that your students get everything out of their lockers before heading down to the main floor"_

"Okay everyone you heard the announcement. If anyone on of you are heading to the gym early, you can go now. I'm talking about those who are in either sports or clubs" said Adelstein. "Mr. Adelstein, me and my friends are in the basketball season" said Edd. "Very well. You guys can go, be sure to grab your stuff" said Mr. Adelstein. Once exiting the room, Edd and his teammates made a quick stop to their lockers and got their stuff before heading to the gym. There they meet up with Mr. Smith who was waiting for them patiently. "Greetings Team PowerEdd, you made it just in time before the entire school comes to the gym for Homecoming" said Mr. Smith. "We sure did. Is Team Red Norwegians here as well?" asked Marcus. "Yes they are. They're in the boys locker room getting changing into their sports attire. You might as change into yours. Did you get outfits?" asked Mr. Smith. "We did" said Edd. "Alright. Go to the locker room and get ready, because any minute now, the floors are going to get announced" said Mr. Smith.

_"At this time, the third floor may head to their lockers and go to the gymnasium" _

Team PowerEdd heads to the locker room and change into their sports attire along with putting their basketball shoes on. "Looking good team" said Hellucard. "Yeah, these outfits rock" said Tord. "I look so good in a jersey. The colors are going crazy here" said Matt while taking a selfie of himself. "I wonder if Pat's team have cool outfits as well. I can't wait to see them" said Edd. "That's what being in the basketball season is like Edward. It's filled with surprises" said Marcus.

"Alright team, I know that there's a lot of people sitting on the bleachers in the gym, but don't let that scare you. This is where Team PowerEdd and Team Red Norwegians will be making there debut. Oh and uh, Eduardo's team is also joining us, so that will be fun. Otherwise are we all good here?" asked Edd. "Yeah!" said Tord. "Let's get this party started!" said Tom. "That's what I wanted to hear! Let's get that banner ready" said Edd. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the 75th annual Homecoming event of Hellscape High! Today is the day where we will introduce all the clubs before getting into sports and Homecoming royalty" said Mr. Smith.

[20 Minutes Later]

"Thank you for the final grand entrance brought to you by the official Hellscape Hight Robotics club. Now I present you the king and queen of Homecoming. For Homecoming queen, we have a very special lady named Laurel" said Mr. Smith. Laurel walks onto the red carpet that's covering the gym floor and stands next to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith places the Homecoming queen crown on her head as it sparkles in the light before giving her a banner. "Thank you Laurel. Next we have the Homecoming king which was a very hard decision to make due to having two candidates on the ballot. The Homecoming king is...Rob Stewart!" said Mr. Smith. "God dang it! I was supposed to be Homecoming king. Stupid Rob, you made me look me bad" said Matt. "Calm down Matthew, at least you're on a sports team. That makes you get all the frame" said Billy.

"Oh yeah, you're right. Ha! Take that Rob, I'm on a basketball team" said Matthew. "And that should do it for homecoming royalty. Finally, we came down to the final introduction. I present to you the three basketball teams of Hellscape High. Come on in Red Norwegians!" said Mr. Smith. The Red Norewgians enter the gym in style as everyone in the gym cheered. "I would like to the team to introduce themselves to everyone including in front of the camera" said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith hands the microphone over to Pat. "Thank you Mr. Smith for letting us have the honor. Anyway, I'm Patryck, most of you call me Pat. I'm the team captain of the Red Norwegians even though none of us are Norwegian at all" said Pat.

Pat then passes the mic over to Pau who just immediately took it. "Yo! I'm Paul, sometimes it's spelled as P-a-u, but whatever I guess. I was the one who thought of the name Red Norwegians" said Pau. Yuu then unexpectedly took the mic from Pau. "Hello everyone! I'm Yuu Tan, but just call me Yuu. I'm technically the ring leader of the team...maybe? ...I don't know" said Yuu. Yuu then passes the mic over to Yanov. "Hi, I'm Yanov. That's all you need to know" said Yanov.

Yanov then gives the mic back to Mr. Smith. "Alright, that's the entire team. Next, I would like to introduce you Team PowerEdd" said Mr. Smith. That was the cue where Edd's team comes in as everyone was cheering. "They're cheering for me. Yay, I'm popular!" said Matt. "No, they're not just cheering for you, they're cheering for us" said Tom. "Oh...popular!" said Matt.

"Oh brother..." mumbled Tom. "Now who would like to start introductions?" asked Mr. Smith. "Me me me me me! Pick me!" said Tord. "Okay Tord, you go first" said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith hands the mic over to Tord. "Hey everybody! You all should know me, but if don't, I'm Tord Fun Larckin and I like to party like there's no tomorrow" said Tord.

Tord then hands the mic to Tom. "Hi there, I'm Thomas" said Tom. "Thomas what?" asked Tord. "I'm getting there, just let me finish. Stop bouncing in excitement" said Tom. Tord stops bouncing as Tom continued. "Anyway...I'm Thomas Richardson and I like to play the bass as in bass guitar" said Tom.

Tom hands the mic to Matt, but instead of actually handing it to him, Matt just grabs both of Tom's hands and pulls him over to him. "Hello people of Hellscape High, I'm Matthew Harrison. It's a pleasure to be on the basketball team just to show you all that I am very handsome. Even more to that, I hope that this moment is being caught on camera catching my face in all its glory. My face is going to be famous for many generations to come!" said Matt. Just on cue, Dr. Benzschawel who was working on the camera, accidentally zoomed in to get a nice close up view at the inside of Matt's mouth. "Ewww...now that's just gross and hideous" said Dr. Benzschawel. Hellucard grabs the mic from Matt and out of Tom's hands. "Hello there, I'm Dominic Devereux. You can call me either Hellucard or just Dom" said Hellucard.

Hellucard then hands the mic over to Marcus. "What's happening Hellscape High? I'm Takashi Nagasaki, but I preferably go by the name Marcus" said Marcus. Marcus then mic over to Billy. "What's up everybody? I'm Seung Jun-ho, but most of you aren't Korean speakers so just call me Billy" said Billy. Billy then hands the mic over to Edd. "Oh well, I guess that I'm last. Greetings everyone, I'm Edward Goldenstein and I'm the team captain for Team PowerEdd. It will be an honor to play for you in this season, even insuring that me and Pat's team will get along with each other" said Edd.

"Really now? Sounds festive" said Eduardo. "Eduardo..." said Edd. [A/N: Just insert the dramatic guitar strum here. Haha~] "What are you doing here Eduardo? Did you come just to get your butt kicked?" asked Marcus. "Unfortunately, I am not here for that. I came here just to start introducing Team Numero Uno" said Eduardo. "Yeah we sure did" said Jon.

"Do you want me to punch you right in eye Jon? I don't think so. Anyway...hand over that mic Edd" said Eduardo. "Don't even bother on listening to him Edward, I got this" said Mr. Smith. Edd hands the mic to Mr. Smith just so he can give it to Eduardo. "Heh, alright you losers, I don't think you need an introduction from me, but if you've been living underneath a rock, than I'm Eduardo the team captain to Team Numero Uno. And oh yeah, over there are Jon and Mark" said Eduardo. Both Jon and Mark slowly waved a bit before Eduardo continued. "You know it took my entire life to get some decent respect but you guys wouldn't let me have it. So guess what? I decided to pull out pranks for Homecoming week, oh wait...I've doing this for three straight years" said Eduardo.

"Yeah says the guy who made me slip on mayonnaise and almost broke my neck" said Tom. "Okay Eduardo, we get it. You just want to get people to see how great you are" said Edd. "That's exactly right! That's why we're playing against each other for the homecoming game tonight" said Eduardo. "You can't just control on who's going to be playing against each other. Like in a million years that we're ever going to face each other" said Edd.


	12. First Game Royale Pt 2 - (Chap 11)

"Like in a million years that we're ever going to face them you say, well we're facing them tonight" said Tom. "Yeah...I really need to learn to keep my mouth shut" said Edd. "Hey guys, these guys look scary and loud...I think we're going to get our faces slammed against a metal pole. I can't let that happen!" said Matt. "Uh...the people that you're referring to are the ones in the stands" said Hellucard. "Oh" said Matt. "I hope we're ready to face them" said Tord.

"We should already have an advantage because knowing Eduardo, he probably drank a lot of diet cola days before the game" said Billy. "Okay PowerEdd everyone's waiting for you. Why are still in the locker room?" asked Mr. Fisher as he came up to them. "Oh sorry. We will be going" said Edd. The whole team heads out of the locker room and onto the court where Eduardo's team was already there. "Well, well, well, guess who finally showed up. You weren't expecting to face us right?" asked Eduardo with a slight chuckle. "Not really, but we didn't back down" said Edd.

"So anyway...uh how are we supposed to do this?" asked Tom. "What do you mean?" asked Billy. "There's three of them and there's seven of us. I thought that there was only supposed to be five players on each team that play on the court" said Tom. "Oh that is a good point. Hey Mr. Smith, we have an unfair match" said Billy. "Seven against three is such a balancing issue. Here's what I suggest, you can make it even by taking turns playing or sitting on the bench till the time comes for you to switch out" said Mr. Smith. "That's a good solution. Let's do it guys. Three against three" said Billy.

"Oh no no no no, three against three? That's not happening on my watch. You guys are all going to be on that court" said Eduardo. "But if we do that it would be unfair and based on actual facts, if you don't have enough players than you're going have to forfeit" said Edd. "Fine...three against three" said Eduardo. "I guess there's an agreement. Let the match begin! The referee will toss the ball into the air to determine on which will be starting the game off" said Mr. Smith. The two teams stood on opposite sides of the center of the court as the referee walked up and stood between them. Surprisingly it was Alex who was starting things off.

"Hi Edward!" said Alex. "Yo Alex bro! Good to see you man" said Edd. "It's good to see you too. I wish you good luck on your first game" said Alex. "Thanks man!" said Edd. Alex smiles a bit before tossing the ball into the air as the two team attempted to go for the ball at the same time. The first two who leaped into the air for it was both Edd and Eduardo, but unfortunately they couldn't get it. Matt who was just minding his business unexpectedly caught the ball.

"Hey, I actually caught it. Sweet!" said Matt. "And the ball is now in the hands of PowerEdd; caught in the hands of Harrison himself as both Goldenstein and Richardson got his back. Also warming up the bench, we have Devereux, Larckin, Nagasaki, and Jun-ho" said Mr. Smith. "This ball is actually not a bad looking ball. It matches my good looks" said Matt. "Matthew!" yelled Tom. "Huh?" asked Matt. "GIVE ME THAT BALL YOU STUPID SELF ADMIRING GINGER!" yelled Eduardo as he ran towards Matt.

"Ahhh!" screamed Matt as he ran away. "Get back here!" yelled Eduardo as he was attempting to catch up with Matt but ended up falling even more behind. "Wow for a narcissist, he sure can run fast" said Hellucard. "Yeah no kidding" said Tord. Eduardo kept running after Matt getting closer and closer to him, but Matt continued to pick up more speed. "Grr...Jon, you useless idiot, do something good for once and get the ball" said Eduardo.

Jon who was postitioned to get ball at the end of court study on where Matt was going to go before standing right at the exact spot only to get pushed to the side as Matt ran past him. Matt then turns back the other way, passing Eduardo, and even somehow managed to dodge Mark before Tom took the ball from him. Tom then runs to the basket while dribbling the ball before throwing the ball into the hoop this making a three point score. "Thomas scores the first three points for the game making PowerEdd in the lead" said Mr. Smith. "Good shot Thomas!" said Edd. "Thanks!" said Tom.

"But I thought I was going to score a point. I did a great job didn't I?" asked Matt. "What are you talking about? Of course you did a great job" said Edd. "Hey! I could use some help over here. Mark has the ball" said Tom. "Good luck getting past me" said Mark. Without even looking Edd manages to steal the ball and go fight passed Mark. Edd makes his way to the basket as Eduardo did a slight nod to Jon.

Halfway to the basket, Edd was about to throw the ball, he suddenly slipped causing him to full onto the ground. "Ow...what the? Wait...are these marbles?" asked Edd as he looked at the marbles that randomly came out of nowhere. A whistle then blows before Alex called a timeout came running to Edd's side. "Edward what happened?" asked Alex. "I slipped on marbles, but I'm okay though. I don't know who got marbles" said Edd. "Hmm...Eduardo, get over here now" said Alex.

Eduardo comes over to them. "Did you put marbles on the ground on purpose?" asked Alex. "No, I didn't. I don't even own marbles and if I did, why would I use them to make Edd fall?" asked Eduardo. "Yeah right. You're getting a penalty since I caught you trying to put soap into a band member's tuba. Anyway, are you ready to continue?" asked Alex. "Yeah, I think so" said Edd. "Very well" said Alex.

Tom gives the ball back to Alex before the whistle blows again. Alex throws the ball to Edd. "We need a better strategy" said Hellucard. "What do you mean?" asked Billy. "The current one we're using doesn't seem to be working although we've managed to get in the lead with a three point lead" said Hellucard. "Right! I believe that I have something in mind" said Tord.

"Okay Tom, you got the ball all you need to do is simply pass the ball to Matthew and you're good" said Tom. Before Tom could actually throw the ball to Matt while dodging Mark, a blur with devil horns came by and took the ball from Tom's hands. The blur was no other than Tord himself all trigger happy; Tord manages to dodge Mark who tried to block him before dodging a slightly confused Jon. After passing by both Jon and Mark, Tord runs to the basket and attempts to go for the shot. Eduardo puts in effort to block Tord's shot but fails when Tord actually makes a well successful dunk. "What a unexpected yet successful dunk from Larckin! The game is now at 22 - 10" said Mr. Smith.

"That was an amazing dunk Tord!" said Edd. "Well we needed a new strategy so I had to get in there" said Tord. "I see. You're right, we do need a strategy. I suggest we switch players. Tord you take Matthew's place" said Edd. "What about us?" asked Tom. "We're switching out. Both Marcus and Billy will take our place" said Edd. "Is Hellucard joining in as well?" asked Tom.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot. Let's go to the bench" said Edd. "It looks like PowerEdd are switching out players. Let's see how well Larckin, Devereux, Nagasaki, and Jun-ho do" said Mr. Smith. "Looks we got trouble Eduardo" said Jon. "No we don't Jon. All we have now is even more losers" said Eduardo. "Hey! You do realize that we can hear you right?" asked Hellucard. "Oh...sorry...not sorry" said Eduardo while mumbling that last part. "So is our plan still crush them?" asked Mark. "Kinda, but we're going to be destroying them and the competition on how we strategized for this week" said Eduardo.

[Three Hours Later...]

"And we're finally at the last five minutes of the game. So far the score is at 132 - 130 with PowerEdd still in the lead, but it seems that Numero Uno is nearing that score to overcome their opponent. Let's see who wins this" said Mr. Smith. "Wow, Eduardo's team is like right behind us with 130 points. The pressure is really burning right now" said Hellucard. "That may be true, but we have an advantage considering the fact that the ball belongs to us" said Billy. "He's right. We should be able to win this game without any trouble" said Edd. The whistle blows as Tord was the first to start off with the ball. Mark tried to block him but failed; however Mark catches up to him.

Tord sees this and throws the ball to Hellucard who was open. Hellucard dribbles the ball as he ran to the basket and attempts a shot. It was successful. "And another point goes to PowerEdd thanks to Devereux! The score is now at 134 - 130 with only two...no, one. Wait it's actually two minutes left on the clock, my bad. Anyway...the ball still belongs to PowerEdd and Goldenstein will start it off" said Mr. Smith. Edd gets the ball and runs to the basket before Eduardo comes up by him. "Hey loser...what's that on your shirt?" asked Eduardo.

"Nice try. I ain't that stupid Eduardo" said Edd. "I'm serious. You have a spider on your jersey" said Eduardo. Edd's eyes then widen as he looked down at his jersey just before Eduardo trips him up and gets the ball. "Ahaha! I can't believe you've felled for that! See ya later loser" said Eduardo as he run right past Edd. "Why that- grr...that's it!" yelled Edd. Edd picks up speed just to catch up to Eduardo and knocks the ball from his hands.

The ball bounces a bit on the ground before rolling towards Matt who picked it. "Matthew! Get the ball to the basket now!" yelled Tom. Matt quickly nods before taking off running towards the basket, dodging anyone who attempts to block or steal the ball from him. Once he saw the basket in sight, he immediately went for a three point shot, which was successful. "I scored a three pointer!" said Matt with a smile. "Yeah you sure did, but in the WRONG BASKET YOU DIMWIT!" yelled Tom.

Matt looks at basket which was belonged to Numero Uno and then at the scoreboard which now read 134 - 133. "Oh...hehe...oops..." said Matt. "Haha! Thanks Matt! You're so helpful" said Eduardo. "But I did a good job didn't I?" asked Jon. "Quiet or I'll give you a black eye Jon" said Eduardo. "Due to the sudden mistake by Harrison, Numero Uno is one point behind PowerEdd. There is one minute left on the clock in this game; the ball now goes to Numero Uno" said Mr. Smith.

Mark gets the ball and runs to the basket while dribbling it. Hellucard goes in for the steal, but Mark dodges and kept going, before Tom runs right passed him and takes the ball. Tom turns around and runs to the opposing basket before getting blocked by Jon; however, Tom passes the ball to Tord. "30 seconds remain!" said Mr. Smith. Without a second to waste, Tord runs to the basket in such amazing speed while avoiding a seemly ticked off Eduardo who was trying to block him. "Stop moving around!" yelled Eduardo.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'll stop moving for you" said Tord. Tord stops moving as Eduardo reached in to steal the ball only to slip up and fall to the ground. "That's what you get for trying to slow me down. I'm unstoppable!" said Tord. "10 seconds left!" said Mr. Smith. It was slow motion as Tord ran to the basket as everyone was counting down the time left on the clock.

10...

9...

8...

7...

6...

5...

4...

3...

2...

1...

Tord finishes the game off by slam dunking the ball right into the basket. Everyone in the stands stood up while cheering. "And there you have it folks! Larckin has delivered the finishing blow by a totally awesome slam dunk! 136 - 133! Team PowerEdd wins! Team PowerEdd has won the Homecoming game and if not, the first game of the basketball season at Hellscape High!" said Mr. Smith. "We did it!" said Hellucard. "Oh yeah!" yelled Tom. "Tord...where did you learn how to dunk like that?" asked Marcus.

"Uh...the Internet" said Tord. "Well, whatever it was, it actually pulled off in the end" said Billy. "We lost our first game of the season" said Mark. "Lost? How could we possibly lost? I literally had everything planned before it. Is this real life right now?" asked Eduardo. "Cheer up Eduardo, at least you had fun" said Jon. "Fun!? I didn't had fun! God, I had enough of your mouth today" said Eduardo.

Eduardo makes a fist with his hand and raises it right in front of Jon before getting stopped by Edd. "Hey Eduardo, good game. Although you guys sucked out there, but hey, it's our first time playing" said Edd. Edd offers his hand for Eduardo to shake. Eduardo doesn't hesitate to grab Edd's hand. "Yeah it sure was" said Eduardo. Before Edd could say anything, he suddenly felt Eduardo's grasp tighten before getting pushed to the ground, landing quite harshly on his right arm.

"Ow! Eduardo! What is wrong with you!?" yelled Edd while putting a hand on his arm. "What's wrong with me? I'll show you what's wrong!" yelled Eduardo. Eduardo attempted to lunge himself at Edd but was stopped when Mark pulled him back. "Ahh! Let me go Mark!" yelled Eduardo. "Eduardo calm down! He just wanted to shake hands with you stating that you both did well as captains" said Mark. "I don't care! I said let me go!" yelled Eduardo.

"Sorry folks, we need to leave. We hope to see you soon once things aren't a little, you know, intense. Come on Jon, let's go" said Mark. Both Jon and Mark left the gym while dragging Eduardo with them. "Thank god, he's gone for now" said Tom. "Edward, are you okay?" asked Hellucard. "Yeah, I'm fine" said Edd. Marcus and Billy help Edd up before Billy took a closer look at Edd's arm. "Did he broke your arm?" asked Billy. "No, he didn't. It's just a small little sprain. It should be fine within a couple of days" said Edd.


	13. Vendetta of the RN - (Chap 12)

"Have any of you seen Edward? He didn't show up for math" said Matt. "I thought he'll show up for music and English but two periods past and he wasn't there" said Billy. "Did something bad happen to him or something? If that's the case then I shall find the person who's responsible for this" said Tord. "No Tord, you're not going to find the person, not yet at least" said Edd as he came up to Tord. "Edward my friend! Where were you?" asked Tord. "I was at the hospital" said Edd.

"Why were you at the hospital?" asked Tom. "Well remember when I got roughly pushed to the ground and felt enmeshed pain? Technically I claimed that it was just a small little sprain, but it turns out that my arm is broken and I have to wear this cast" said Edd. "Oh well...a broken arm takes way more time to heal than a sprained one" said Marcus. "True, but I can't play basketball with just one good arm" said Edd. "Yeah you can't really" said Hellucard. "So basically Eduardo is in deep trouble for breaking your arm right?" asked Marcus.

"In a way yes. Besides he isn't aware that it's broken" said Edd. "Great! I will have the sincere pleasure into giving Eduardo a well deserved kick in the nuts" said Marcus. "Please be my guest if you will" said Edd. "Awesome! Since we got this all cleared up, can I write something on your cast?" asked Matt. "Sure thing" said Edd.

[30 Minutes Later]

"Annnnnd done!" said Matt. "Uh...thanks...? You do realize that you should've kept what you were going to say short right?" asked Edd. "Yeah I know, but I wanted to get all of my thoughts out" said Matt. "I see that, but you literally wrote a entire essay that's worth up to five pages on my cast" said Edd. "Really? I guess I really like writing about my thoughts" said Matt. "Yeah when those thoughts are just you stating how superior and good looking you are compared to other people. I don't even see one sentence that has my name on it" said Edd.

"Oh that's because you need a magnifying glass to find it. It should be right here...yeah here at bottom...probably like two sentences above from the end. I'll read it out loud. "I'm sorry that Eduardo broke your arm. Don't worry I, the fabulous, Matt will always have your side. You're my best friend Edd. I care about you...however I care about myself more. Okay, pretend that you didn't read that". Any thoughts?" asked Matt. "I have some. You didn't bother put Edward in that one part?" asked Edd. "About that...it had way too many syllables" said Matt. Edd just looked at Matt like he was crazy or something. "Boy, I sure wonder about you sometimes" said Edd. Suddenly the sound of something colliding with metal could be heard outside.

Both Edd and Matt got up and took a look to see what it was and to their surprise they saw Eduardo breaking his fall as Marcus slowly walked up to him. "Oh you've picked the wrong day to have fight with me" said Eduardo. "And you've picked the wrong day for coming back after breaking my friend's arm" said Marcus. "So that's what this all about? You decided to walk up to me for breaking Edd's arm? What kind of excuse is that?" asked Eduardo. "It's not an excuse. It's just payback" said Marcus. "Payback? I'll show you payback! Nobody challenges me to a fiat fight!" yelled Eduardo.

"Uh Eduardo...I think you should stop" said Jon as he watching the entire scene fold out on the sidelines. Eduardo doesn't listen but instead charges at Marcus at full speed before punching him right in his stomach only to quickly recoil back in pain. "Ow! What the heck man!? Wh-are your abs made out of steal or something? That actually hurts!" yelled Eduardo. "Yes they are made out of steel. That's because I do some extreme workouts" said Marcus. Before Eduardo could even repsond, Marcus suddenly kicks Eduardo right in his nuts. Eduardo who felt rushing pain only let out a very shrill high pitched scream which sounded like a girl's scream.

This was a perfect opportunity for Marcus to beat up Eduardo by first punching him in the jaw and in his stomach. Eduardo then falls to the ground as he was trying to comprehend what just happened before getting up and going over to Jon. "Help me mommy! I just got beaten up!" said Eduardo. Jon then walks away with Eduardo gripping onto him as everyone then cheered for Marcus. "Woah Marcus! That was incredible!" said Edd. "Oh hey there Edward and Matthew. How long were you standing there?" asked Marcus.

"Long enough to see you give Eduardo a beat down which was coming for him eventually" said Edd. "Ah I wanted to do it early, but thanks" said Marcus. "My Marcus, those were some impressing moves that you've shown" said Yuu as he along with Red Norwegians walked up. "Thanks Yuu!" said Marcus. "So what are you guys doing here?" asked Edd. "Well we wanted to congratulate you on winning the Homecoming game and we also would like to show you something" said Pau.

"Oh a surprise. Count me in!" said Matt. "Please follow us" said Pat. Marcus, Edd, and Matt follow the Red Norwegians as they went up to the third floor, went to the right before going down a long hallway eventually making a sharp left turn, and coming face to a door. The door had a sign reading "rooftop passage" on it. "Hey, doesn't this door like off limits for students?" asked Matt. "It is, but not for us" said Yanov.

Yanov then pulls out a key before putting the key into the lock and opening the door. "Well are you going to stand there or are you coming?" asked Pau. The three members of PowerEdd followed closely behind as they went up three flight of stairs eventually going through another which ended up with them being on the roof of the school. "This is nice, but the path going straight is blocked off by smokestacks. So I guess that this is end" said Marcus. "Not quite. You didn't look closely enough" said Yuu. Yuu points to the middle of the path which a metal catwalk was seen going across the many smokestacks.

"Try to stick as close as possible to us. The smoke coming from the smokestacks can block your vision but not enough to block out the lights on the catwalk" said Pat. Once more the members of PowerEdd kept close to the Red Norwegians as the walked on the catwalk which goes above a large boiler and many lower smokestacks till they all reached the end. Upon reaching the end, a large building was seen a few steps from the catwalk. The two teams went inside it to find out that it was a gym. The gym sported a red and black outlined scheme for its floor and its stands along with its very own own scoreboard. The gym floor had a black eagle with its head facing towards the left as a decor.

The words "together we stand and fight, together we unite" written in Norwegian that was in black font and had a white outline. "Oh my god, I've never knew that it was possible to have a gym on top of a roof" said Edd. "Well now you know that it's possible" said Pau. "This is so awesome! I love it!" said Edd. "Since you've shown us your gym, do you care to explain what else you wanted to talk about?" asked Marcus. "The Homecoming game...we watched it. We sat in the stands up high" said Yanov.

"Why?" asked Matt. "Nothing really. We were just bored, so we went to the game" said Yanov. "Anyway...although you may have done a great job on beating Eduardo's team that night, we saw something that totally shook our minds all weekend long" said Pat. "What was it?" asked Edd. "We saw something snap inside Eduardo. Our guesses would be that Eduardo had some kind of breakdown but he had enough rage to push you to the ground" said Pat. "What do you mean exactly?" asked Edd.

"Have you notice anything that seemed a bit odd?" asked Yuu. "Well all I saw was that Eduardo is a little more jerky than he was last year, but as of now, he seemed very aggressive" said Edd. "Aggressive is a word that we use a lot to describe the emotions of Edurdo. You were so lucky not to get hurt even more because both Jon and Mark managed to take Eduardo outside where he can be heard yelling out nonsense" said Pat. "We know that this sudden and that you have questions, but we found this in the trash" said Yanov. Yuu pulls out a container that appears that it contained pills or liquid. "Say I recognize this container from somewhere before" said Matt.

"What? You actually saw something like this?" asked Marcus. "Yeah I did. I think I walked by Eduardo while he was taking a pill. Don't know why though" said Matt. "That's because, he may have some mental issues so that's why he takes pills" said Yanov. "I see. Now I see that Eduardo is totally messed up in the head. We need to tell Mr. Smith about this" said Marcus.

[At Mr. Smith's Office]

"Yes, I am fully aware of it. I am so sorry that your daughter got covered in pig blood on the last day of Homecoming week. I promise that it- well of course I'm doing something about it. I was going to say- oh...well that's unfortunate. Right. Okay. Alright. You're going have to call me back sometime later, I have work that needs to be done. Goodbye" said Mr. Smith as he hung up. Mr. Smith looked the papers that he had on desk about the the accident of a student getting dumped in pig blood along with papers stating how much feedback that the Homecoming game received. It wasn't till Mr. Smith heard a knock at his door. "Come in" said Mr. Smith. Edd, Marcus, and Matt came into his office before shutting the door behind them. "Ah, well if isn't the winning team of the Homecoming game. What can I do for you three young men?" asked Mr. Smith.

"We are wondering if you are aware or not that Edward got his arm broken by Eduardo" said Marcus. "Oh I am aware of that since I've received a phone call from his uncle this morning, but before I gotten the call someone told me about after the game was over that night" said Mr. Smith. "That's great! Do you mind if we say that we've figured out on what's with Eduardo?" asked Edd. "Sure I suppose" said Mr. Smith. "We got this container from the Red Norwegians stating that they found It in a trash can" said Marcus. "Hmm...oh know I now what that is. You see, Eduardo takes one pill a day sometimes he takes two" said Mr. Smith.

"Oh really? What are these pills called?" asked Edd. "Those are called benzodiazepines" said Mr. Smith. "Benzo-what?" asked Edd. "Benzodiazepines. Anyway...before we continue on about this, I have some unfortunate news" said Mr. Smith. "Oh, are you getting fired? You can't get fired! Who's going to help me become prom king?" asked Matt. "What? No! I'm not getting fired. I just wanted to tell you that there was someone who stole Mrs. Ashbury's jewels" said Mr. Smith.

"What!? What kind of jewels are they?" asked Marcus. "They're pearls but they are modeled off of the Hope Diamond" said Mr. Smith. "Can you show us what they look like?" asked Edd. "Sure. Tord bring in your sketchbook" said Mr. Smith. Tord comes into the room carrying a sketchbook. "Tord, since when were you an artist?" asked Matt.

"Ever since kindergarten. I've been sketching things that happened during this school year" said Tord. "So does that mean, you've sketched the entire Homecoming game and events leading up to it?" asked Edd. "Yep, I sure did" said Tord. "Dude, you're an evil genius" said Marcus. "Ah yes, but I'm using my powers for good" said Tord with a small chuckle. "Cool! So can you draw me and my handsome face sometime?" asked Matt. "Uhh...I'm not drawing you like one of those French girls" said Tord. Everyone in the room laughed at what Tord said expect for Matt who seemed a little mad. "Anyway here's the sketch of the jewels that were stolen" said Tord. Tord holds up the sketch of the jewels as Edd, Marcus, and Matt looked at it closely. "Thank you Tord. I am counting on you to solve this mystery" said Mr. Smith. "You have our word, Mr. Smith" said Edd.


	14. Sherlock and Mr Waston - (Chap 13)

Meanwhile in the school's boiler room, a figure is seen tied to a chair sitting up with a bag covering their head. A few feet away from the person there stood Eduardo, Jon, and Mark along with the English teacher herself, Mrs. Ashbury. "I can't believe how easy it was to kidnap somebody" said Mark. "Yeah, but nothing's better than faking to steal jewels" said Eduardo. "And you three have done a great job at it" said Mrs. Ashbury. "Oh it was a pleasure for you, Mrs. Ashbury" said Eduardo.

"So since we've done the two requests, are you doing to give us your end of the deal?" asked Jon. "Of course I am, you idiot. I'll giving you three A's for all of your hard work along with giving the two teams, that I don't care about, all F's for English and their classes" said Mrs. Ashbury. "Perfect! Now what's next?" asked Mark. "Well since Trevor told the members of PowerEdd that my jewels got "stolen", they probably left just to start finding clues. However what they don't realize is that we distracted them long enough to kidnap the head of the basketball season" said Mrs. Ashbury. "For the last time Abbie, it's Joshua. You always get my first name wrong like every time when you see me" said Mr. Smith. "Oh look who's finally decided to wake up his little dirt nap" said Mrs. Ashbury.

Mrs. Ashbury motions for Jon to take off the bag that was covering Mr. Smith's which he did. "So how's everybody's favorite teacher doing, hmm?" asked Mrs. Ashbury as she walked up to Mr. Smith. "I was doing okay till you had the members of Numero Uno to come unexpectedly into my office and kidnap me. What is wrong with you?" asked Mr. Smith. "Hehe...what's wrong with me? Nothing's wrong. I just had enough of you claiming to be glory when you know so well that I've been in this dumpster fire of a school way longer than you" said Mrs. Ashbury. Mrs. Ashbury softly yet harshly grabs Mr. Smith's chin as she pulled him closer to her. She then placed a finger on his cheek before slowly going down. "Not even a single scratch on you. I like it. Jon and Mark come with me. Eduardo, I want you to stay here and give Mr. Smith some...friendly discipline" said Mrs. Ashbury. "You got it Mrs. Ashbury. I'll discipline him real good" said Eduardo.

[With Edd and Marcus]

"Okay since Matt and Tord are giving everyone a heads up on what happened, I suggest we should start looking for clues" said Edd. "Right. Any idea on where we should start?" asked Marcus. "I think we should start looking at the most obvious place in this school, Mrs. Ashbury's classroom" said Marcus. "Good idea. Let's go there right now" said Edd. Both Edd and Marcus proceeded to go to Mrs. Ashbury's classroom and upon going into it, they got a big surprise once they saw Jon and Mrs. Ashbury. "Thank you Jon for finding my jewels. You're such a good student. I'm so proud of you" said Mrs. Ashbury.

"It's no problem. I'm glad that I was able to help you at a time of crisis" said Jon. "Oh Edward and Marcus, when did you get in here?" asked Mrs. Ashbury as she looked up to see Edd and Marcus standing there. "Oh well, we just came here to see if we can find any clues" said Edd. "I see. Well you're a little too late since Non here has already found my jewels" said Mrs. Ashbury. "That's right. Oh, Mrs. Brown came in here earlier stating that Mrs. Smith got kidnapped" said Jon. "Wait what?" asked Marcus.

"I'm not lying. Mrs. Brown actually said that Mr. Smith got kidnapped" said Jon. "Say Jon, can we speak to you alone for a bit?" asked Edd. "Sure" said Jon. Edd and Marcus took Jon down to the music room which was in the basement. "So what do you guys want to talk about?" asked Jon. "We just want to know how you've managed to find Mrs. Ashbury's jewels" said Edd.

"And to add onto this, how long have you known about this accident?" asked Marcus. Jon took a minute to process these two questions that were asked to him before taking a deep sigh. "Okay...I'll be completely honest, Mrs. Ashbury made a deal with us to "steal" her jewels before telling us about her issues of being with Mr. Smith. She told us to kidnap him and so we did" said Jon. "Why would you listen to her? That's one of the big rule breakers. Do you realize that all of you will be trouble?" asked Marcus. "I know that. I tried convincing them, but Eduardo didn't want to hear what I had to say" said Jon. "Do you know where both Mark and Eduardo are?" asked Edd.

"Well Mark was very paranoid about this whole entire thing so he went to tell the principle about it and Eduardo...he was told to watch Mr. Smith" said Jon. "Okay last question. Where is Mr. Smith being held at?" asked Edd. "He's being held in the school's boiler room which would be in the basement" said Jon. "I see. Marcus, I'll be going to the boiler room to rescue Mr. Smith. You go with with Jon to tell the other teachers" said Edd. "Right. What happens if you and Eduardo were to square off? Would you be needing my help to take him down?" asked Marcus. "That won't be necessary. I got this" said Edd.

[In The Boiler Room]

It has been several minutes since Eduardo left and Mr. Smith was struggling on trying to get the ropes off. "Come on, just a little more and aha! Gotcha" said Mr. Smith as he found a hole in the tied ropes. Mr. Smith slowly yet carefully slipped through the ropes only to find a pair of handcuffs on his wrists. "What the? Oh you got to be kidding me" said Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith then looks around the room hoping to find a key to the handcuffs but once he saw a key, it turned out that Eduardo returned holding them in his hand. "Are you trying to escape? Heh heh, how cute" said Eduardo.

Eduardo walks over to Mr. Smith just to put the ropes back on him. "What made you think that I would leave a key behind just so you can get those handcuffs off?" asked Eduardo. "Eduardo, you need to listen to me. Mrs. Ashbury is using you for her own personal gains" said Mr. Smith. "Oh really? The last time I've checked she actually promised to give my team benefits" said Eduardo. "She's giving you benefits all right, but she's actually planning on being on top just like how she always wanted" said Mr. Smith. "What are you talking about?" asked Eduardo.

"When I first came to Hellscape High three years ago, she was the first person to greet me, but I could tell that niceness that she had was fake. Soon after that, she began mocking me about my plans on how to make school a better place. She wouldn't stop making fun of me and what's even worse she that no matter how many times I correct her, she always gets my name wrong. However I wouldn't say that it's an issue though. Anyway I beg you not to take part of what Mrs. Ashbury told you to do. I'm doing this for your safety and your future. If you were to continue doing what your doing with her, you'll regret it" said Mr. Smith. "I...No! These are lies! I won't let you just tell me that Mrs. Ashbury is a twisted mastermind" said Eduardo as he pulled out his Swiss Army knife and pointed it at Mr. Smith. "And there you go. You just said it out loud that she's a mastermind. What's it going to be Eduardo? Your pride or your future? Can't you see that what your doing is reminding you about your past?" asked Mr. Smith. "No...you're lying" said Eduardo as he was shaking. "Just admit it Eduardo, we both know that you wouldn't let some person take control of your life by simply faking an innocent act. So drop the knife. Go ahead, I'm waiting" said Mr. Smith sternly. Eduardo just stood there for a few minutes before slowly lowering the knife and letting off his grip on it.

The knife slips from Eduardo's hand and drops before making a metal clang as it hit the floor. "Good. Now untie these ropes" said Mr. Smith. Eduardo goes behind Mr. Smith and starts untying the ropes. "Alright, now use that key you got just to get these handcuffs off of my wrists" said Mr. Smith. Eduardo doesn't resist and proceeds to unlock the handcuffs before taking them off of Mr. Smith's wrists. "Thank you Eduardo. Now can you show the way out?" asked Mr. Smith.

"Uh yeah...sure. It's...right this way" said Eduardo. Eduardo takes the lead into showing Mr. Smith the way out passing each and every twisting dark corner that had some light showing the path. Eventually both of them were soon outside where Edd was coming up to them. "Mr. Smith, you're okay!" said Edd. "Of course I am Edward. Thank you for solving this kidnapping of a mystery" said Mr. Smith. Eduardo stood there for about a minute before turning the other way and started walking off.

"Hey! Eduardo! Where are you going? You do know that you're in trouble for being apart of Mrs. Ashbury's plans" said Edd. "What? Tch...can you just stay out of people's business for once? Look, I would love to stay and chat with you, but I have other things to do. And oh, do me a favor and stay out of my way" said Eduardo. Eduardo then walks off down the hallway before turning left. "Geez what's his problem? I only wanted to have a small conversation with him, but he decided to go up all defensive on me" said Edd. "Edward, I know that you want to bring Eduardo to justice, but you need to let him go. He's been through a lot today, so it's best if you were to keep your distance from each other. I'll be talking to you again soon, but for now I need to head to the school clinic. Take care" said Mr. Smith.


	15. Mr Smith's Safe Return - (Chap 14)

"So you're telling us that Mr. Smith got kidnapped?" asked Tord. "Yes Tord, for the 20th time, Mr. Smith got kidnapped by Jon, Eduardo, and Mark who were commanded to do so by Mrs. Ashbury the English teacher" said Marcus. "And to add on, Jon actually talked to the principle. Sure Jon may be used as Eduardo's puppet, but he has the sense to tell someone" said Edd. "Is Mr. Smith alright at least?" asked Hellucard. "Yeah he is. He told me that he'll be visiting the school clinic to make sure he wasn't injured" said Edd. "That's good" said Hellucard.

"I hate to break this conversation that you're having but I need your attention for just a brief moment" said Sir Wozniacki as he walked up to the members of team PowerEdd. "Hey Sir Wozniacki, what are you doing here?" asked Billy. "I actually came here to give you a message" said Sir Wozniacki. "Oh, what is it?" asked Tord as he got pumped up. "As you may or not know, but there was incident where someone had stolen Mrs. Ashbury's finest jewels, but they were eventually found and returned by a student. However once the jewels were reunited with Mrs. Ashbury, the disciplinary teacher Mr. Smith has gotten kidnapped by three individuals. It turns out that Mrs. Ashbury was responsible for the kidnapping and has been brought to justice where she was given her punishment" said Sir Wozniacki. "I see! Have you told Red Norwegians about this?" asked Edd.

"No I haven't. They are currently practicing for their match against Numero Uno and they said that they don't want to be disturbed at this moment" said Sir Wozniacki. "Oh well okay then. So anything else?" asked Edd. "Yes there is more. The teachers and the principle have gotten together and agreed on throwing a party for Mr. Smith's safe return and the departure of Mrs. Ashbury. I also came here to tell that on our behalf, we would like all of the members of PowerEdd to come join the party inside the teacher's lounge" said Sir Wozniacki. "Really!? This has to be a joke right? Please tell us that you don't mean it" said Tom who not believing what he was hearing. "Oh I mean it. Come on let's go. Everyone's waiting for the stars of the Homecoming game and the detectives of Hellscape High" said Sir Wozniacki.

[In The Teacher's Lounge]

The teacher's lounge was decorated to the core with balloons and other party decor. "Wow, this place is very festive" said Matt. "That's because you guys made it happen and we couldn't be grateful" said Mr. Peterson. "Oh hey Mr. Peterson" said Billy. Suddenly a bright flash appeared right in front of Tom's eyes. "Woah...my eyes. That stung" said Tom. "Oh I'm so terribly sorry. I had to take pictures of the people who won the first game of the basketball season" said Dr. Benzschawel.

"Oh Roderich, give them a break. Besides don't you already have the recording of them?" asked Mr. Beethoven. "Of course I do, Gilbert. You never stop asking me about that" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Boys, why are you fighting? This is supposed to be happy environment not a battlefield" said Mrs. Brown as she walked up to them. "Debbie's right. You guys shouldn't be fighting, besides we have guests" said Mr. Adelstein. "Yep, we're guests alright, we're special guests" said Tord. "Well that is true. You boys may want to sit down" said Mrs. Brown.

The members of PowerEdd all sat down at a table waiting for something to comes. A few minutes later, the principal came in a everyone looked up at him. "Thank you everyone for coming to this little party. I, Principal Brown, am happy that a horrible event has ended. I would like for Mr. Smith to come up" said Principal Brown. Mr. Smith stands up and walks up on stage before standing right next to Principal Brown. "Thank you Theodore and thank you everyone to give me this honor. You see I wasn't expecting the basketball season to be ruined by a certain individual who we all know about, but I was happy when things came around when two teams were formed. Thank you Edward for giving me a helping hands and thank you members of PowerEdd for winning the first game of the season. Things were going great till I got a report from a student saying that Mrs. Ashbury's jewels got stolen and I quickly called Edward and Marcus to help me. However it turns out that Jon, a member of Eduardo's team, returned the jewels back after reporting to the principal about it. The jewels were a distraction for Mrs. Ashbury to kidnap me and hide me in the school's boiler room where she left Eduardo in charge of guarding me. Luckily Edward came and found me, but unfortunately for me, when I had a bag over my ears, I lost one of eye contacts. I will be wearing these glasses for now till I get my eye doctor to give me a replacement. Also in other words, Mrs. Ashbury got caught in the act and was soon fired. Mrs. Brown will taking over her position as the new English teacher" said Mr. Smith. Everyone clapped for both Mr. Smith's speech and for Mrs. Brown who's now an English teacher and a math teacher. "Edward and friends, can I speak to you alone in private?" asked Mr. Smith.

"Sure, we'll go somewhere else" said Edd. Mr. Smith takes Team PowerEdd into a back room which was quiet so nobody can hear them. "So what do you want to talk to us Mr. Smith? Also I never knew that you have glasses" said Billy. "Long story short, I have insurance to get eye contacts and I haven't wore these glasses since high school. It's going to take a longtime for me to get use to them again. Anyway...I just wanted to talk to you about Eduardo" said Mr. Smith. "What about him? Did Edward here kick his butt with one arm?" asked Marcus. "No I didn't. Even if I would, Eduardo would still have an advantage over me" said Edd.

"Alright, alright, I get it. We're not talking about Eduardo and Edward fighting, we're talking about Eduardo's current situation" said Mr. Smith. "Oh I see. Continue on" said Billy. "It has come to my attention that you guys have discovered that Eduardo is taking benzodiazepines. They're pills that are used to keep a person's mind in check" said Mr. Smith. "In other words, they keep the person from going insane, right?" asked Hellucard. "Yes, but in Eduardo's case they actually keep him calm. The effects of taking them make him tired and after a few minutes pass, he'll be in a docile state" said Mr. Smith. "I see. How many of those pills does he take a day?" asked Billy.

"It's either one or two, but I can't be certain since regardless of taking them or not, Eduardo can be highly aggressive at times" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah he can be when it comes to breaking someone's arm" said Edd. "I see. My mission is to figure out Eduardo's past, but in the meantime, I have a surprise for you all" said Mr. Smith. "Really you do? Are you going to make me prom king?" asked Matt. "Hmm...I'm not supposed to tell it to you right now, but come to school tomorrow" said Mr. Smith.


	16. Love At First Sight? - (Chap 15)

The next day, a student was seen walking to school with a group of friends. Everything seemed alright till they got stopped by a group of bullies. One of the bullies knocked the student's books out their hands before grabbing them by their shirt collar. "Hey you!" yelled Tord as he came up to the scene. "Hey what? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something? I'll be more happy to punch you in face after I put some sense into this nerd" said the bully. "Not on my watch" said Tord.

Tord then strikes a t-pose making the bully's eyes widen in fear as they let go of the student before running away. The rest of bullies who were in shock also ran away. "Are you guys okay?" asked Tord. "Oh my god, you just saved our lives. Thank you" said the student. "Oh it's nothing. I'm a member of the Hellscape High safety patrol and it's my job to rid this place of bullies" said Tord. "Sweet! Care to join us for a get together for the formation of amine and science club along wigh robotics team?" asked student.

"Sure! By the way do you guys read...hentai?" asked Tord. "Of course we do!" said the student. "Awesome! Where should I meet you guys?" asked Tord. "Ever heard of a place called the Galaxcia? We're planning on meeting there at 5 p.m" said the student. "Sounds good. I'll be seeing you guys later then" said Tord.

[At The Front Entrance]

"I never knew wearing uniforms can make you look good. I mean look at this, I'm fabulous!" said Matt. "Oh geez...so why are standing out in the front entrance?" asked Tom. "Mr. Smith told us to keep guard because there's one student that loves to put people in headlocks" said Edd. "Oh I see. It doesn't seem that they'll show up" said Tom. "Or maybe they will. We just need to stay focus while we show off these golden badges" said Marcus. A few minutes have passed and nothing came.

"Where's Tord when you need him? We could use some of his jokes" said Hellucard. "I think he's still keeping watch off of campus to make sure that no one's getting hurt" said Billy. Three minutes have passed and again nothing came. Eventually everyone expect for Edd went inside the school hoping to meet up with Tord. "Seriously guys? You didn't have to leave me out here in opening like this. You do realize that I only have one good arm right?" asked Edd. "Umm...hello there" said a voice which sounded feminine. Edd looks up to see a girl with blue hair wearing a grey shirt and black pants.

"Oh hi, I didn't see you there" said Edd. "Oh it's nothing. Don't be sorry. It's my fault for not saying anything to you sooner" said the girl. "Yeah, uh, who are you?" asked Edd. "I'm Laurel and you are?" asked Laurel. "I'm Edward, but I sometimes get called Edd for short. Laurel you say? Hmm...that names sounds familiar. Did you happen to have won the title of Homecoming queen?" asked Edd. "Yep! You're correct" said Laurel.

"Oh I see. How did it feel to win?" asked Edd. "It felt great actually. Ah, I sure made a lot of girls jealous but they've moved on" said Laurel. "You should head inside. School's going to start soon" said Edd. "Oh that, well uh, school's over" said Laurel. "Wait what? How long was I standing here exactly?" asked Edd. "I'm not sure, but I think you fell asleep with your eyes open by accident" said Laurel.

"Oh well that makes sense" said Edd. "It's getting a little dark, do you mind if you can walk home with me?" asked Laurel. "Sure, I got nothing better to do" said Edd. Both Edd and Laurel starting walking while Laurel was showing Edd where to go. Apparently the path that Laurel takes is filled with bullies so they had to take an alternative route. Along the way Edd started asking Laurel questions.

"So you're in the same grade level as me, but what class?" asked Edd. "Class? I think you meant tier. Anyway I'm a grade 11 Jade" said Laurel. "Nice!" said Edd. "...It's an all girls tier by the way" said Laurel. "Oh okay" said Edd. "Well I wouldn't say that it's all girls since we have the winner of Homecoming king Rob and his gang of boys" said Laurel.

"Are they trouble in anyway?" asked Edd. "Not really. They're loud and annoying, but they haven't gotten into anything physical" said Laurel. "That's good" said Edd. "Fun fact: I'm a year younger than you even though it doesn't seem like it, but it's true. Oh and as apart of Homecoming royalty, the royals get a better view of the game" said Laurel. "You mean the first game of the basketball season? You were there?" asked Edd. "Yeah I was. I was a little late to the game, but I was there long enough to see your team win" said Laurel.

"Cool! Why were you late exactly? I'm just asking" said Edd. "Well I wasn't going to tell anyone expect for Mr. Smith and the principal, but I got drenched in pig blood that was poured over my head" said Laurel. "No way! Who would do such a thing?" asked Edd. "Oh it would be Eduardo and his two friends pulling pranks for the entire Homecoming week. They've been doing pranks for three years straight without anyone catching them, but they had to pull one one me at the worst time" said Laurel. "I see. I think you probably saw this, but Eduardo harshly threw me to the ground when I was offering him a handshake. I thought my arm was sprained but it turns out that he broke it" said Edd. "My god! That Eduardo needs to get a taste of his own medicine" said Laurel.

"Yeah! Yesterday, I discovered that Eduardo takes benzodiazepines" said Edd. "Benzodiazepines? For what? Just so he can behave properly?" asked Laurel. "Something like that, but I'm guessing that they help him remain at a docile state and not have him be aggressive. I also learned that he takes one or two of them at a certain time, but lately it seems that he doesn't take them or that he needs stronger ones" said Edd. "I see" said Laurel. They soon arrive at Laurel's house right before the sunset. Laurel takes out her keys and opens the door before going inside with Edd following behind her.

"Laurel! Thank goodness you made it home safely. I was getting worried that I would had to come and get you since you got bullied" said Laurel's mother. "Oh don't worry about that mom. I had someone with me. Edward, I would like to introduce you to my mom. Unfortunately my dad is at work right now, but I'll tell him that you stopped by" said Laurel. "Okay. Hello there, I'm Edward. I sometimes go by Edd for short. You have such a lovely daughter" said Edd. "Nice to meet you Edward and thank you. Laurel always had a way of getting someone's attention for assistance" said Laurel's mother. "Mom! How many times do I have to tell you not to embarrass in front of new friends?" asked Laurel. "Oh! My apologies. Anyway, I hope that when you graduate, you'll throw a banquet with Laurel at our house" said Laurel's mother.

"Oh I would love that" said Edd. "Now Laurel, I've talked with Mr. Smith and we both agreed that the only way to solve an issue you should face it head on" said Laurel's mother. "Oh...wait...you didn't happen to invite the most arrogant person of all time to dinner did you?" asked Laurel. "Well yeah" said Laurel's mother. "Laurel...it's about time you'd show up. I've been waiting here for like a good half an hour" said Eduardo as walked into the room. Edd looked at Eduardo to see that he had some blood on his forehead that seemed to have dried up.

Edd also saw that Eduardo had a couple of cuts and bruises on his arms. The most shocking thing that Edd saw next was that Eduardo's pinkie on his right hand was gone. "What are you staring at, loser?" asked Eduardo. "Oh, it's nothing. It's just that you seem that you've gotten beaten up" said Edd. "That's none of your concern to know what's going on in my private life. I thought you know better" said Eduardo. "Yeah...I think I'm going to leave. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye" said Edd. "Oh, bye Edward and goodnight" said Laurel. Edd exits out of Laurel's house and once outside while pondering the thought of whatever happened to Eduardo's pinkie. Edd shook his head before getting onto his skateboard as he made his way over to Marcus' house.


	17. The Kirin and the Wolf - (Chap 16)

It was 4pm and the sun was still shining down on a nice beautiful and green neighborhood. A black Mazda Cosmo Series II pulled up against the curb of a house. "Is this the place that you wanted to be at Nagasaki-san?" asked the driver. "Yes Nishida, that's exactly what I told you yesterday and the day before" said Marcus. "My apologies. I have brought your kit of weapons" said Nishida. "Thank you. Just wait here in the car, I'll be back. This won't take long" said Marcus.

Marcus then gets out of the car with his suitcase in hand before walking up to the front door of the house. Once reaching the door, Marcus knocks on the door as he waited for someone to come and open it. While waiting, Marcus heard noises that sounded like angry yelling mixed with shouting cries of mercy coming from the inside. Eventually the door opens revealing a tall woman wearing a purple skirt and a black shirt. "Can I help you?" asked the woman. "Yeah, is this Eduardo's house?" asked Marcus.

"Yes it is. I'm his mother. Please come in" said Eduardo's mother. Marcus follows Eduardo's mother as he went inside the house. "I'm sorry if this place smells like liquor and cigarette fire. Eduardo's father just came home after a very stressful day at work" said Eduardo's mother. "It's fine. What does his father do for work?" asked Marcus. "Well he has a degree in business and that he rarely has any free time to himself. Plus he's always a bit grouchy when he comes home" said Eduardo's mother. "I see. I came here to talk to your son. You see he was apart of a plan which involved kidnapping the school's disciplinary teacher and head of the basketball season" said Marcus.

"Oh I already know that. I got a phone call from that particular teacher stating that Eduardo would be giving a suspension. Unfortunately for that troublesome son that I have, he's currently sick right now which makes things even better" said Eduardo's mother. "Wait he's sick? Did he caught the flu?" asked Marcus. "No, he already gotten his flu shot, but he just has the common cold" said Eduardo's mother. "I see. Where is Eduardo?" asked Marcus. "In his room obviously. You can go upstairs if you want" said Eduardo's mother. "Thank you" said Marcus.

Marcus proceeded to go upstairs where Eduardo is at. Once Marcus have entered Eduardo's room, he sees Eduardo chained up to a pole unconscious. "Geez...how many benzodiazepines did he take? I don't think that he's supposed to have that many" said Marchs quietly. Marcus walks over to a desk that's by Eduardo's dresser to find a container of benzodiazepines sitting on top of it. "I see. So it is one or two pills a day" said Marcus. Marcus then puts the container back down as he turned to look at Eduardo only to see that he have received many beatings.

"My god Eduardo...you sure took a lot of beatings, but from whom exactly? Whatever they did they've managed to make you bleed a little. Ouch" said Marcus. Marcus goes in for a closer look at Eduardo's condition only to back up as Eduardo woke up with quite the start while thrashing around but the chains still held onto him. "Wah! Please mom, no more! I beg you! Please stop! I promise that I'll be good! I swear!" said Eduardo. "Woah, Eduardo! Relax, it's just me. Calm down" said Marcus. Eduardo stops moving as he looked at Marcus. "Oh it's just you. What do you want from me?" asked Eduardo.

"I just wanted to stop by to see you, but I found you chained up against this pole in your room" said Marcus. "Oh...so you've came to mock me didn't you? Yeah, come inside my house just so you can watch me act like a wild animal who can't be tamed" said Eduardo. "Geez...for a guy who was unconscious and was beaten up, he sure is feisty. Anyway, do you know why your chained up?" asked Marcus. "Well many reasons of course. One being the fact that you and Edd snitched on me for kidnapping Mr. Smith" said Eduardo. "That's because it's against the law and we didn't snitch, we just came to stop you before you could hurt anyone" said Marcus. "Yeah and I didn't even lay single finger on that teacher" said Eduardo.

"If that's the case, then why did you threaten him with a Swiss Army knife?" asked Marcus. "Hey! That army knife was gift to me by a person that my dad knows who's from Switzerland" said Eduardo. "So your dad's from Switzerland?" asked Marcus. "No! His friend is, you idiot" said Eduardo. "Listen, I didn't come here just to argue with you, I came here to punish you. Unfortunately, I can't beat you up since someone or one of your parents had gotten to it first. So I guess I'll have to do the punishment a bit differently" said Marcus. "Differently? What are you talking about?" asked Eduardo.

"Do you mind if I were to ask you that you'll be fine if I cut off your pinkie?" asked Marcus. Eduardo's eyes suddenly widen. "N-No! You wouldn't dare to cut off my pinkie. I won't let you!" yelled Eduardo. "Aww...that's so sweet of you to say that. But...too bad, I already made the decision to do so" said Marcus. Marcus pulls up a small table before going through the chains that held Eduardo just to get his right arm out. Marcus then puts Eduardo's hand on the table.

"I want you spread those fingers out nice and wide for me" said Marcus. Eduardo doesn't hesitate and spreads out his fingers only to get a weight ton on the back of his hand. Marcus then puts duck tape over Eduardo's mouth. "Now the real fun begins" said Marcus. Marcus pulls out his briefcase and opens it revealing his collection of sharp instruments of torture. Marcus pulls out a small dagger before slitting Eduardo's pinkie across with it.

Eduardo whimpers in pain as he felt the dagger quickly going through his skin shortly before seeing blood coming out of the cut. "Have you ever heard of the nursery rhymes called "Little Piggies" before?" asked Marcus. Eduardo nods slowly. "Well then good. I'm going to make you be that one little piggy crying "wee wee" all the way home once I cut off your pinkie right now" said Marcus. Everything went to blur as Marcus took out a wazikashi and immediately brought it down thus cutting off Eduardo's pinkie just the area where it once was started bleeding out uncontrollably. Eduardo's only reaction was to howl in pain although the sounds were muffled.

Marcus removes the tape from Eduardo's mouth along with removing the weight ton from his hand. "That wasn't so bad now was it?" asked Marcus as he putting his wazikashi back into his briefcase. "You...you...cut off my pinkie and that wasn't just any pinkie, it was my favorite pinkie" said Eduardo. "Oh, come on Eduardo. You knew what you did was wrong" said Marcus. "...How hard is it for you people to understand what it's like for me? You guys know nothing" said Eduardo. "If you're going to say something like that to me, you might as well owe it up to your mistakes. Like for one apologize to everyone for all those pranks that you've pulled off" said Marcus.

Marcus then leaves Eduardo's room, walked downstairs, and out the door where Nishida was waiting in the car. Marcus gets into the passenger side. "So...how did it go?" asked Nishida. "It went well as I expected" said Marcus. "That is good. I received a phone call from your mother. She said that you will be having visitors at your home for rest of the afternoon" said Nishida. "Oh. Crap! I totally forgot that I told Edward and the others that they're invited to come over to my house. Quick, Nishida, drive" said Marcus. "Yes sir" said Nishida.

[At Marcus' House]

"You sure have a way of decorating Mrs. Nagasaki" said Matt. "Why thank you. We get a lot of money from our business buildings in Japan. Plus we get lovely workers who do everything for me. I don't have to lift a single finger" said Marcus' mother. "Nice! Where is Marcus anyway?" asked Billy. "Oh well, he has very important affairs to do so he's a little late" said Marcus' mother. "So you and Marcus live in a two story Japanese themed house that has servants all to yourself?" asked Tom. "It's not just me and Takashi living here. He has a younger brother" said Marcus' mother.

"Mother, what's going on downstairs? Are you making dinner for all your friends from book club?" asked a voice. "No Kiku, it's your brother's friends; they're guests. Come downstairs and say hello" said Marcus' mother. Footsteps can be heard as they went down the stairs and got louder as they neared the room. Eventually a young boy that looks like Marcus comes into the room. "Ah, you must be Team PowerEdd, right? I'm Takashi's younger brother. I go by Kiku, well, I often go by Chase. It's a pleasure to meet you" said Kiku. "It's nice to meet you too, Kiku" said Edd.

"I see that my little brother is bonding quite nicely with my friends" said Marcus as he stepped into the room. "Big bro, you're back!" said Kiku. "I'll leave you two be. I will stop by to give you all snacks if you want any" said Marcus' mother before living the room. "Your mother is so nice. Do you mind if I ask for her name?" asked Hellucard. "Her name is Sakura. It's a really beautiful name" said Marcus. "Sakura...hmm...I like it" said Hellucard.

"Anyway, we all came for our hangout time and we wondered why it was taking you so long to come" said Edd. "Oh that? I was busy with some personal yakuza business" said Marcus. "Yakuza? Wait...you mean the yakuza as in the actual organization?" asked Tord. "Yeah. Apparently the Nagasaki family is apart of a family tree of yakuza clans which our father is a chairman in. He is the second chairman to the Shimanto Clan" said Kiku. "Woah...so does that mean he has access to guns? Guns make me happy" said Tord. "Yeah he does. He sometimes use katanas and other weaponry" said Marcus.

"Sweet! So what made you come to the UK?" asked Tom. "Long story short, the Shimanto Clan has been in war with another clan for quite sometime. That other clan stole ¥4,000,000,000 and our father was tasked by the head boss to retrieve it. He planned out an entire heist and managed to get it back, but at a cost. He had to get us out of Tokyo and to the UK for our safety. He is still in Japan and the last time we heard from him, he's in Kansai" said Marcus. "Oh, I am sorry to hear that. At least you're safe" said Edd. "Yeah...anyway Kiku, I'll be giving my friends a tour around the house" said Marcus. "Okay, I'll be in my room doing some homework" said Kiku. Kiku leaves the room leaving Marcus to begin the tour.

"Alright, the room that we're currently in happens to be the place where my mom holds book club. So I guess you can call it the lounge" said Marcus. "Cool! What's next?" asked Edd. "Follow me right this way and you'll see" said Marcus. Marcus leads everyone to another room that has a lot of counter space. "We're in the kitchen right?" asked Matt. "Of course we are Matt. Did you not see the stove at the minute when we walked in?" asked Tom. "Oh, yeah, right. Ooooh, what's in here?" asked Matt. "That's just the pantry" said Marcus. "Oh. What's in here?" asked Matt. "That's the door that leads to the zen garden which is the backyard" said Marcus. "Oh. What is this thing right here?" asked Matt.

"That's a closet" said Marcus. "I see. Ooooh what is that orange and black thing on that plate over there?" asked Matt. "Oh that? That's just my pet lizard, Spike. The reason why he's on that plate is because he is eating" said Marcus. "Oh" said Matt. "Anyway...let's head upstairs" said Marcus. Marcus leads the way by going back into the lounge room, into the living room, and down a hallway where there's a staircase leading to the second floor.

"Alright, we've made it to the second floor. Over there's the second floor bathroom which me and Chase share. Down that hallway there's two rooms on the left and right sides. The one to the left is Chase's room while the one on the right is my room" said Marcus. "Sweet! Mind if you would take us inside your room?" asked Edd. "Sure thing" said Marcus. Marcus then leads everyone down the hallway passing by Chase's room and eventually makes to Marcus' room. Marcus opens the door to his room and turns on the light. "Woah this is incredible!" said Tom.

"Thanks! Let me show you where things are. First off in that corner to your left that's my desk where I do schoolwork while by that closet is my bed and dresser. I know it's so special, not really though. Across the room is where I keep my briefcase for business stuff at. To the right, there's my trophy case" said Marcus. "Awesome!" said Billy. Tord who was sketching out the room accidentally leaned a bit too far while catching an angle lost his balance shortly before breaking it by putting a hand into a wall that was behind him. Unfortunately, the wallpaper couldn't hold onto his weight and ended up tearing apart revealing a hidden door. "Tord are you alright?" asked Edd. "Yeah, I'm fine, but I think I disturbed the balance or something because the wallpaper tore apart" said Tord.

"You didn't disturb anything. All you did was reveal a door that leads into my secret workout room" said Marcus. "Your secret what now?" asked Tord. "My secret workout room" said Marcus. Marcus walks up to the door and puts in some kind of password on the door's padlock before turning the knob thus opening the door. "Well, what are you waiting for? Come on in" said Marcus. Everyone goes through the door one at a time entering the workout room which was filled to the bone with equipment and weights.

"This just looks like the weight room at school, but it has a Japanese theme" said Hellucard. "Technically I had this room decorated and designed to be a bit different" said Marcus. "I see" said Hellucard. "Uh Marcus, what's that over there?" asked Edd as he pointed to a table that was like a shrine but had dragons, snakes, flaming skulls, white tigers, barbwire, and a Kirin on it. "Oh that's just my shrine" said Marcus. "You have a shrine? What's on it?" asked Tom.

"Well there's a waterfall between one of the dragons and the Kirin. Below it there's a small bowl and above the shrine there's a dartboard" said Marcus. "Hey, why's there a picture of Eduardo with a knife stabbed onto it?" asked Matt. "That's a good question. Why do you have a picture of Eduardo anyway?" asked Billy. "That's because he's mentally psychotic. One day during the summer, Chase came into my room, telling me that he saw Eduardo beating Jon's back with a whip. It made me very sick to my stomach. After that, I have been training myself extra hard in an attempt to make sure he pays...with his own blood" said Marcus. "Oh geez, I always knew that Eduardo had anger issues and always abuse both Jon and Mark, but whipping them with a whip, that's too far!" said Tom. "Hey look what I found! I found a thing!" said Matt while holding up a pinkie.

"Matthew...that's not just any thing...that's a severed pinkie" said Hellucard. Matt suddenly recoils back in disgust as he dropped the pinkie. "Oh my god, I just touched something that was disturbing! Ew! Get it off me, get it off me, get it off me!" yelled Matt. "Matthew calm down! I never thought that it had to come to this, but I went to Eduardo's house and cut off his pinkie" said Marcus. "For what reason?" asked Billy. "I cut it off just to get back at him for breaking Edward's arm and for kidnapping Mr. Smith in a heist that was planned out by Mrs. Ashbury" said Marcus.

"You did that for me?" asked Edd. "Yes. I care about you a lot and I would hate to see anyone hurt you" said Marcus. "I uh hate to break this heavy moment, but I just off the phone with Eduardo" said Chase as he came into the room. "What?" asked Marcus. "You've talked to Eduardo about what?" asked Hellucard. "You see I wanted to ask his mother about his habits that lead up to his bad behavior and outbursts, but Eduardo actually picked up the phone" said Chase.

"What did he say to you when you asked him questions?" asked Edd. "Well to make things short, he said that his mother is a very stressful woman who has two jobs while his father is a Mexcian gang boss. He even adds onto say that his father will sometimes come home tired out and angry and will drink to get rid of his pain. What's even worse is that both of his parents abuse him for whatever thing that he does no matter how awful or innocent it is" said Chase. "Really? How many times a day does Eduardo gets abused by his parents?" asked Hellucard. "Eduardo said that it's nearly everyday. It gets so bad that he is forced to head over to his grandparents' house" said Chase. "Oh dear...does anyone else know about this?" asked Tom. "Jon, Mark, his grandparents, and Mr. Smith. The only people who don't know will be you guys" said Chase. "I see. So all this time I knew Eduardo, I never knew that he was abused this badly by his parents" said Edd. "Eduardo also told me that the abuse started when he was only 7 years old" said Chase. "Woah that's young. Now I understand why he's like this" said Billy. "That just reminds me, when I went upstairs to Eduardo's room, I saw that he was chained up to a pole. He was all bruised up and had scratches everywhere, plus he was bleeding from a wound that was inflicted on his forehead" said Marcus. "Say...when I was helping someone get back to their house safely, Eduardo was apparently invited to their house for dinner. I saw those same exact markings on his body along with noticing that his pinkie was gone. Now I know what happened" said Edd.

"Yeah. Anyway...I approached Eduardo just to get a better look at him only for him to suddenly wake up begging for his mother not to hit him. I thought he took too many of those benzodiazepines, but my guess is that his mother must of abused him too much causing to him to pass out" said Marcus. "What is wrong with his parents? Sure he may did some pretty bad things, but they didn't have to punish him hard enough where he is knocked out cold with an open wound" said Edd. "That's basically the same question that I've asked myself up at this point" said Marcus. "Well there's no time for us to be thinking about questions that will never be answered, we need to tell the authorities about the parental abuse of a minor" said Tom. "Right! We need to tell Mr. Smith. Hopefully he will do something about this" said Billy. "Agreed! But for now, we need to keep this discussion a secret so that Eduardo won't know that we've talked about it" said Edd.


	18. Troubling Situation - (Chap 17)

In computer sciences the students were working in groups for a project which is a 3D scale model of a rocket ship. "Why is putting in coordinates so hard?" asked Hellucard. "Uh we haven't gotten to the part on how to make it fly yet. We're still on the design part" said Billy. "Oh my mistake" said Hellucard. "It's fine Dominic" said Billy. "Hey guys, I've figured out on what design that this rocket should have" said Tord.

"What is it Tord?" asked Marcus. "We will base the rocket off of my giant robot, well mini giant robot" said Tord. "That may sound cool, but we're not actually building a rocket" said Tom. "Oh that reminds me, as part of this project I want you create a 3D model and use it build an actual real rocket out of metal. Continue on please" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Oh...I guess we really are building a rocket after all" said Tom. "Yay! I get to put my the design to the test" said Tord.

[Lunch]

During lunch, Tord was giving a full demonstration on what his mini robot looks like by using forks and some parts of his food. Shortly after this, Tom just shakes his head telling him no just as the Red Norwegians came by. "Greetings PowerEdd" said Pau. "Hello Red Norwegians. You do realize that you don't have to be formal right?' asked Edd. "We know, we're just messing with you that's all" said Pat. Pat, Pau, Yanov, and Yuu then sat down at the table. "So how was your game against Eduardo's team?" asked Hellucard. "It went well actually since we've won, but we noticed Eduardo's current behavior" said Yuu.

"What about it?" asked Edd. "Well we've noticed that he's a bit more irrigated as of lately especially when he's around Jon and Mark" said Pau. "We've noticed that too, but it didn't seem that bad. I'm guessing that after we won, Eduardo went a little haywire afterwards" said Tom. "And let's not forget that his anger is the reason why my arm is broken" said Edd. "Don't mention it, we were there" said Yanov. "You were?" asked Edd.

"Yes. We were sitting up high in the stands watching the entire game. Anyway...each time we face against or see Eduardo, the more ruthless he becomes" said Yuu. "Don't get me started on his increasing state of being arrogant. Oh, I wanted to be on a big team, but what do I get instead? We get Eduardo who had to and always has been a jerk because why not? Oh I hate it with a burning passion" said Pat. "So what does this have to do with Jon and Mark?" asked Billy. "There has to be a way on getting both of those two out of Eduardo's "mind control" and get them to be brave just so they won't have to suffer from his constant torturing" said Pau. "Yeah. Jon and Mark, well especially Jon, don't deserve to be treated like this. All of those times taking care of Jon's wounds whenever Eduardo decides to take his anger on him, it's really concerning" said Yanov. "I see. We're in luck. When we were just chilling at my place, my brother phoned called Eduardo's house to talk to his parents. Guess who picked up the phone? It was Eduardo himself. Basically Eduardo talked about his past which was just a bunch of painful punishments inflicted on him by his parents" said Marcus.

"My that's horrible! Is there anyone else that knows about this?" asked Pat. "Jon, Mark, Eduardo's grandparents, and Mr. Smith" said Marcus. "I see, I see. I suggest you should talk to Mr. Smith then. We will meet up with each other with a plan on how to convince Jon and Mark to side with us. Surely they will understand and follow throughly" said Pat. "Sounds like a plan" said Edd.

[At Mr. Smith's Office]

"You want me to do what exactly?" asked Mr. Smith. "We want you expel Eduardo" said Marcus. "Woah, wait a minute, since when have we agreed on this?" asked Tord. "Oh...my bad. I just wanted Eduardo's punishment to come early" said Marcus. "Even if I were to expel Eduardo, do you think that it's going to solve anything?" asked Mr. Smith. "Well we do know that it would solve this whole basketball disaster since Eduardo won't be there to lead his team" said Edd.

"Edward you may know things about basketball, but you sure don't know how much consequences expelling Eduardo could be. First off even though we know that Eduardo has been receiving abuse from his parents and that if he gets expelled from this school, he'll definitely get twice the punishment" said Mr. Smith. "So what if we were to suspend him?" asked Tom. "He'll get the same treatment as before. Even though his mother called in stating that he's sick, but according to Chase, he got abused and I find it pretty disturbing" said Mr. Smith. "So you're saying that regardless of expelling him or suspending him, he will still get abused?" asked Billy. "In a way yes. It's a very vicious circle that can't be avoided" said Mr. Smith. "What can we do instead?" asked Tord.

"Since you gave me those drawings of his past Tord, I have been looking in ways of getting him therapy and talking to his grandparents into agreeing that they should get complete custody over him" said Mr. Smith. "You can actually do that?" asked Hellucard. "Yes. It's not that hard to do. All you need is paperwork and having it get approved by the court" said Mr. Smith. "That's great!" said Edd. "Indeed it is. While I am doing this, I want you to keep this between us and the Red Norwegians. Maybe you can share it with both Jon and Mark, but don't even think on sharing it to Eduardo. You have to promise me that boys" said Mr. Smith. "Don't worry Mr. Smith, we won't say a word" said Matt.

"If we were to tell Eduardo this, who knows how he'll react. By knowing him, he is sure enough to have an outburst at a given moment" said Marcus. "And since he takes medication, there might be a point in time where he needs to take more due to how much pain he has endured. Now with this settled, you should probably head to class. It's already getting close to when the bell rings" said Mr. Smith. "Right! We...seriously need to work on our timing when it comes to talking about heavy stuff like this. Hehe..." said Edd. As on cue the bell rings making Team PowerEdd scramble out of Mr. Smith's office.


	19. The Den of the Wolves - (Chap 18)

In the underground gym of Team Numero Uno, both Jon and Mark were seen carrying medicine and other medical supplies for Eduardo who was laying on a bench while having a coughing fit. "You shouldn't have played in the game against the Red Norwegians, especially if you're sick like this" said Mark. "I.I..know Mark, but I had to be there or else it wouldn't been an even match" said Eduardo with a hoarse voice. "Even if it were to be an even game, we could of just called it off till you felt better; however, that didn't happen and well, look at you now. You look worse than you did before" said Mark. Jon then comes over to them carrying a bucket and a washcloth. "Thank you Jon. Okay Eduardo, it's time to clean up more of your already existing wounds" said Mark.

Eduardo nods a bit as Mark placed the washcloth into the bucket before wringing it out. Mark then proceeds to look at Eduardo's body just to see if there were any opened wounds. So far Mark only had to clean a few as Eduardo grunted and hissed as his opened flesh was exposed to warm water. "Please stop moving. I know it hurts, but you need to hold still" said Mark. "Sorry..." said Eduardo as he stopped moving. "So what's it like to have a pinkie...or...well a finger cut off?" asked Jon.

"It's not a good feeling and it hurts a lot when it's sliced off. Plus there's also a lot of blood thrown in as well" said Eduardo. "Oh okay. On a pain scale, what number would you describe it?" asked Jon. "An 11. No, about a 14" said Eduardo. "I see" said Jon. "Even though I got my finger cut off of by one of Edd's loser friends, I now have this prosthetic one as a replacement" said Eduardo. Mark takes a look at Eduardo's hand and sees something metallic covering the area where his pinkie would've been.

"Okay, now I see. I want you to get some rest. I'll come back and check on you later" said Mark. "Thanks Mark" said Eduardo. Mark then leaves with the medical supplies in hand just before Jon comes up to him. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I just checked the outside cameras and Edward and his friends are coming down the path that we made as an alternative route to our gym" said Jon. "What!?" asked Mark. "I know, I know! Eduardo told me not to keep that route open. Oh god, if he finds out that our rivals are in our gym, he'll flip" said Jon. "Oh no he's not. Since those Red Norwegians aren't with them, I want you to buy some time for me to get Eduardo into another room" said Mark. "You got it" said Jon.

[30 Minutes Later]

Jon comes back to the gym just as Mark was locking a door. "I did it Mark!" said Jon. "You sure did Jon. Thank you for taking the offer of being a distraction" said Mark. "Uhh...a distraction for what?" asked Matt. "Yeah and you do realize that you're both pretty loud and that this gym echoes a lot right?" asked Tom. "Jon...what did you do?" asked Mark.

"Ehh...I showed them the way on how to get up the hill. I took them down an elevator that has tunnels under a well and I lead them down said tunnels to our gym" said Jon while smiling nervously. Mark then facepalms. "Hey, I have to say that how you converted an old well and its tunnel system to a main path to an underground is really cool. I've always had the dream of seeing an underground gym and now it actually came true" said Edd. "Long story short, we had to replace the bucket that was apart of the well due to of its old age. We had to put in an entire elevator shaft. Secondly, there were many tunnels that probably lead a person into a very complexed catacomb like system with no way out, so we had to close of a good majority of them. And thirdly, the tunnel system was built during the times of the Medieval Ages and was sadly forbidden to enter due to the British government stating that the water was no longer safe to drink" said Mark. "Ah, no wonder why the stones that of the tunnel appeared so old yet still intact" said Tord. "Anyway...so this is the gym of Team Numero Uno? Heh, I have to say that the colors are going crazy up in here" said Hellucard.

"Yeah I know! The wolf in the center took me by surprise. I thought Eduardo would have the sense to put an ugly looking number one, but I was wrong" said Matt. "We thought so too, but it turns out that Eduardo's favorite animal is a wolf" said Jon. "Does that mean that he took inspiration from the Pyscho Wolves?" asked Edd. "The Pyscho what?" asked Jon. "You guys never heard about the best basketball team to ever exist in America?" asked Billy. "They're American?" asked Mark.

"Ah...the Psycho Wolves are a team that comes from the best state, as claimed by them, known as New York. Mr. Smith showed us a video of them when they were playing against the Night Hawks in a national championship finals" said Edd. "Night Hawks? What's a Night Hawk?" asked Mark. "It's not a real life animal, although it may be cool to see one if they were actually real, but they're a team from California. The team comes from a city called Sacramento" said Edd. "Oh I see" said Mark. "Great! Now that we cleared that up we can...Billy? What are you doing?" asked Edd. "Oh nothing, I'm just admiring this awesome looking poster. A wolf drinking a can of diet cola while holding up a finger indicating the number one. Finally, a reason to which I can both agree on and see the words "numero uno". I like it" said Billy.

"Oh really? Thanks. Eduardo designed it himself. Why are you guys here anyway?" asked Mark. "Well, we were about to head to Edward's place for a round at basketball, but we ended up finding Jon which lead us to here" said Tom. "Yeah, but there should be another reason" said Mark. "Can I guess? I think you're here to laugh at Eduardo's face aren't you?" asked Jon. "Wait...Eduardo's here? I thought he was sick" said Matt. "We weren't supposed to say this as a promise to Eduardo, but he came here just so he can get away from his parents. You see, he was abused as a small child" said Mark.

"We already knew about that, that's why we're here" said Edd. "But you just can't talk face-to-face with him with a topic like this. If you were to do that who knows what he'll do" said Jon. "We said we know. Mr. Smith told everything down to simple details. Plus Marcus' brother, Chase, got Eduardo on the phone and explain his situation. Now, is it true that Eduardo whipped you?" asked Tom. "Yes...yes he did. It wasn't a good feeling" said Jon. "Just what I thought. What about you Mark?" asked Edd. "Eduardo has outbursts whenever something just makes him ticked. When the tension builds up, I have to be the one to hold him back or otherwise he'll hurt someone or himself, but he mostly either Jon or me. Thanks to his outbursts, I have a lot of bruises and this one cut on my arm which is now a scab" said Mark.

"I see. What would you say if you would like to join me and Pat's team? By joining, you wouldn't line in fear ever again" said Edd. "That would be nice. I'm tired of being used as a punching bag. Even though it would be great to get away from Eduardo, I just worry about him sometimes. Sure, his punishments are bad, but he needs someone there to make him feel like he's being heard" said Jon. "He may be a jerk, but he's our jerk. When he first talked about his past, we were shocked. He's been through so much, but if he's saying that while hurting us both, then we don't have an option. We want to help Eduardo even through it's technically a death wish, but we'll try our best" said Mark. "I see. So you're willing to get away from your pain, yet you want to help the one who caused it" said Marcus. "Yes. After Eduardo has an outburst, he can be very apologetic stating that he doesn't want us to feel what he feels, meaning that we shouldn't fall down the endless cycle of abuse" said Mark. "And to all of that, we understand. Tell you what, we'll help you. All you need to do is to keep this conversation a secret and everything's good. Also we'll try to endure Eduardo's snarky comments as much as we can" said Edd. "It's a deal" said Mark.

[With Eduardo]

Once school ended that day, Eduardo was seen walking home with each cough getting worse. "Man, I knew that I should've take that entire bag of cough drops with me" said Eduardo. Eduardo kept going as his coughing was starting take its toll on him. "We're almost home. Once we go inside, I'm going to feed you Eduardo Jr. and probably collapse on my bed" said Eduardo. Eduardo holds up a cage which contained Eduardo Jr., who was a desert rain frog. Eduardo Jr. then squeaks at his owner.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. No need to tell me that I'm sick since I'm aware of it" said Eduardo. Eduardo Jr. squeaks some more. "I'm wearing shorts when it's basically November? Yeah, thanks for telling me that, Captain Obvious" said Eduardo. After a couple of minutes of going back and forth on arguing with his pet frog, Eduardo eventually reached the front door of his house before heading inside only to get a nice surprise. "Sir! The child has entered the home" said an officer. "Well don't just stand there, protect him!" said the sheriff.

The officer does what he was told and heads over to Eduardo who seemed extremely confused on what's going on. "No need to be alarmed. Everything will be alright" said the officer. "Alright!? What are you guys even doing in my house?" asked Eduardo. "Son, just relax. You're in safe hands now" said the officer. A few minutes later, a squad group walks into the room with both of Eduardo's parents in handcuffs. A detective soon comes down stairs and walks up to the sheriff.

"When I was upstairs, I found something truly disturbing that is so indescribable" said the detective. "What did you see?" asked the sheriff. "I walked into a room to see a pole that had chains right next to it. The most disturbing part of it was that, they were coated by already existing stains of blood" said the detective. "Dear god...that is sickening" said the officer. "I've did some fingerprints tests and found out that the mother in this household was responsible for abusing her son, which is illegal" said the detective. "That's a lie! Eduardo please tell the detective that he's wrong" said Eduardo's mother.

"I'm sorry sir., but...you're absolutely correct. My mom is the one responsible for abusing me" said Eduardo. "Hmph...I thought so" said the detective. "Oh and oh more thing, my dad should also be held responsible for abusing me as well. Plus he's always coming home with bottles of alcohol and drinks them in his man cave" said Eduardo. "Search the father's man cave" said the sheriff. The officer quickly runs to the man cave and after a few minutes, he comes out holding a bag filled with bottles. "Jumping jellyfish, Oscar! The kid's right. His father is an alcoholic" said the officer.

"Hmm...I wonder what else the father has been up to" said Sheriff Oscar. "My father is also a boss to a Mexican gang. Not just any gang, but one of the most deadly one to ever exist" said Eduardo. "Dear god! You heard the boy, let's take them to the slammer, Officer Lambarski" said Sheriff Oscar. Officer Lambarski makes a gesture which made the squad group take both of Eduardo's parents out of the house. The detective watches the squad group put the handcuffed couple into two separate police cars from an open window. "I can't believe this. They're actually gone. They are finally out of my life. I am speechless, but all I have to say is...thank you" said Eduardo.

"No, it should be us thanking you. If you weren't being honest than we wouldn't even be here" said the detective. Eduardo smiles a bit before hearing a beeping sound. "Oh my. Sorry about the noise coming from wristwatch, but I have some other important business to attend to. I hope we'll meet again. Go Go Gadget Arm!" said the detective as his own arm turns into an extension before going out of the window. "Aye, that detective is always trying to show off. Anyway, since your parents will be behind bars for a longtime, I suggest you should start packing now" said Officer Lambarski. "Packing for what? Where am I heading to exactly? The orphanage?" asked Eduardo. "No. You're heading to your grandparents house of course. Once you get over to their place, they'll explain everything to you" said Sheriff Oscar. "Okay" said Eduardo.


	20. Dethroning The King - (Chap 19)

The next day Tord was seen walking down the street with a golden retriever who was on a leash. "Woah, don't go too fast Max. Remember I need you by me at a reasonable distance" said Tord. Max listens to Tord and keeps a good distance where's he not that far from his owner. There were several times where they would stop but that was mostly because of Max doing his daily routines along with sniffing his surroundings. It wasn't till Max picked up a scent before dragging Tord with him. "Max, calm down. What are you so worked up about?" asked Tord.

Max eventually finds the source which to Tord's surprise was a frog that was squeaking loudly out in the opening. Max goes in for it before suddenly getting punched right in the snout. "Max! Are you alright?" asked Tord as went down at Max's level to check on him. Max appeared to fine despite that he was in a lot of pain. Tord then looks up to see Eduardo picking up the frog. "Hey! Why would you punch my dog?" asked Tord calmly yet sternly.

"And why would you let your dog attack my frog?" asked Eduardo. "You have a pet frog? Look, I am not here to play 20 questions with you" said Tord. "Same goes for me. Do me a favor: keep that stupid mutt on a leash why don't you" said Eduardo. "Pfft...whatever" said Tord before walking off. Without Eduardo's order, the frog squeaks angrily at both Tord and Max despite the two being out of ear range. Unfortunately for the frog, Max heard the squeaks and immediately took at full speed towards them which ended up with Eduardo quickly holding up the frog in air as Max went in for an attack.

But despite being fast, Eduardo suddenly feels a sharp pain before looking down to see that Max bit his leg as he let out a scream. "My leg! My second favorite leg!" yelled Eduardo. Max then lets go before going back to Tord's side as Eduardo looked at his leg to see blood slowly rolling down from the area of where Max bit him. "Oh come on Eduardo. When are you going to learn how to control yourself especially at these types of situations?" asked Tord. Eduardo didn't reply back at what Tord said as he got up and slowly limped away.

[At School]

"Tord where were you? You were supposed to save music class from Matthew's trumpeting fury of torture" said Hellucard. "Yeah! You totally missed out on my amazing skills. Everyone was crowding due to how good I was" said Matthew. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I was sorta late getting here due to some conflicting issues that have been resolved" said Tord. "What happened?" asked Tom. "Oh, I was walking around the neighborhood with Max like we always do every morning, till we ran into Eduardo. We argued a bit after he punched my dog" said Tord. "Woah, I'm sorry to hear that" said Edd.

"No need to be, Max ended up biting his leg" said Tord. "Holy crap! Eduardo totally got what he was coming to him" said Marcus. "Quick question: since when did you have a dog?" asked Tom. "What do you mean? I've always had one. I told you about Max in July, don't you remember?" asked Tord. "Yeah I do, but I don't remember having a conversation like that. I was going to get a pet, but Susan broke into pieces" said Tom. "You mean your bass right?" asked Billy.

"Yeah" said Tom. "I've always had the dream of getting a dog and in order to make it come true, I kept bothering my dad a lot till he eventually went to the pet store. Unfortunately, he bought me a possum claiming that it was cheaper" said Matt. "Okay...where was I? Oh yeah. I've been thinking about this all morning and came to the conclusion that I am sick and tired of trying to keep the urge to smash Eduardo's skull against a fire hydrant whenever I see him" said Tord. "Look, I know that all of you are getting tired of ignoring the fact about Eduardo being jerky to people and trust me, I'm in the same boat as well" said Edd. "So what are we going to do then? We know we can't just tell Eduardo even if it's for the best, because he'll freak out" said Billy. "Well I guess we need to play it the safe route. I talked to Jon and he said that Eduardo has Twatter where he talks about how great he is along with sharing pics of him harassing Jon. Even though we took the pledge into not using stupid boxes, we can find a way to get his account terminated" said Edd. "Sounds like a good idea. What is his username anyway?" asked Tord. "It's NumeroUnoEduardo. How I know this is because I have Twatter, yet I don't use it" said Hellucard. "Great! It's settled then" said Edd.

[A Couple Minutes Later]

Eduardo was seen sitting at the ledge of a large fountain in the school's courtyard with Jon and Mark. "Mark, where's my lemonade. I told you to go get it before we ever step foot into this courtyard" said Eduardo. "I'm sorry Eduardo, I'll go get it" said Mark. "No Mark, wait. Hey Eduardo, can we talk?" asked Jon. "Did I say you can speak Jon? What do you want?" asked Eduardo. "Um, I was in Twatter and found something shocking. Your Twatter account has been terminated" said Jon.

"What? My account is still up, let me just get on and- what the...HOW DID I GET BANNED!?" yelled Eduardo. Eduardo then gets up and runs back into the school as everyone around him got out of his way. It wasn't till he encountered the same student that Tord saved before stopping in front of him. "Oh hello there. How are you?" asked the student. Eduardo doesn't reply to the question and instead lifts up the student by the collar. "Oh my...you seem a little angry" said the student nervously.

"You sure bet I am, nerd" said Eduardo in a sharp tone. "Hey! Leave my friend alone! Why don't you pick on someone your own size" said Tord as he walked up along with the rest of his friends. "Oh it would be my pleasure to do so" said Eduardo. Eduardo then drops the student as he landed on the ground before quickly getting up and running away. "Since you are all here, I'll keep this short and sweet. Which one of you douchebags or if you know somebody else in this school, got me banned off of Twatter?" asked Eduardo. "Uh huh, and what would happen if we don't tell you?" asked Edd.

"I get to do this to you all" said Eduardo. Eduardo lifts up a fist and attempts to punch Edd, but Edd manages to block it with the arm that was broken. "What...? I...I thought your arm was broken" said Eduardo as he seemed surprised. "Oh it was. Turns out that waiting for it heal seemed like a longtime but for me, it came by so fast" said Edd. Eduardo then attempts to punch Edd with his free hand which had the prosthetic pinkie, but Edd catches it as well. "How is this even possible!?" asked Eduardo.

"That's simple, it's called teamwork and friendship. Now Marcus!" yelled Edd. Marcus then comes out of nowhere giving Eduardo a roundhouse kick to the jaw before getting pushed back by Edd. "I am so going to make you pay for what you did to me, you yakuza brute" said Eduardo. Eduardo felt pain coming from his jaw before cracking it back into place before taking out his Swiss Army knife. Eduardo readies himself as Marcus waits for an attack which seemed like awhile before Eduardo makes a move only to get his knife caught in the hands of Jon. "What are you doing you idiot!? Can't you see that I'm in the middle of something here? This better be good or else I'll cut off all of your fingers" said Eduardo.

"Eduardo, you need to listen to me carefully when I tell you this. Argh!" yelped Jon as the knife was starting to pierce his skin. "Tell me what? Go on, say something already" said Eduardo. "Aah! Do you remember when me and Mark promised to be by your side after one of your outbursts? Well, I decided to keep it by getting you banned" said Jon. "You were the one who got me banned? Why would you do that for?" asked Eduardo. "It's because...I care about you. No, I worry about you all the time. When you told me about the issues that you had, I was completely heartbroken to hear it all. I wanted to help you, you know like a friend would" said Jon. Eduardo then takes the moment to pause about what he just heard as Jon felt the pressure of the knife getting loose before letting go of it.

Eduardo then puts a hand on Jon's shoulder before embracing him in a tight hug as he tears flowed from his. "I am so sorry Jon! I really am" cried Eduardo. "Shh...it's okay Eduardo. Everything's okay. Please stop crying" said Jon as he patted Eduardo's back. "Everything is not okay! I had no idea that you actually cared" cried Eduardo. "Well now you know. Everything is going to be alright. I got you, plus I think Mark's getting you lemonade and some cookies since you like both of them" said Jon. While Jon was comforting a very sad Eduardo, Edd and the others took the chance to leave them be.


	21. A Chill in the Air - (Chap 20)

It was 6:00am and the teachers were getting ready for another school day, but things were a little different. A cold breeze swept throughout the entire school as ice formed on the walls. All the teachers and the principal were in a meeting room in the staff lounge till Sir Wozniacki felt the cold breeze and looked at the door to the room. "Phil, what's wrong? It's like you've seen a ghost or something" said Mrs. Brown. "I felt a cold breeze just suddenly. Did you feel it as well?" asked Sir Wozniacki. "No, I don't feel anything" said Mrs. Brown.

"How can you not feel that? I'm wearing shorts and I feel it" said Mr. Fisher. "I can feel it as well and I'm basically wearing two layers along with a lab coat" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Everyone calm down. There is nothing to worry about. We have heat in this school so we should be good" said Principal Brown. On cue the heaters in the room started going; however, it didn't last that long once the coldness started to come out of the vents along with small snowflakes showering all over the place. "Well that didn't help at all" said Mr. Beethoven. As the room grew colder, ice started to form on the doorknob shortly before the knob itself cracked and broke off.

The door then opens revealing a tall person wearing a thick black winter coat, boots, and a helmet. He even had an eyepatch covering his right eye. "Who are you?" asked Principal Brown. "I go by many names, but most people call me V'yuga or the Bringer of Winter" said V'yuga. "Oh, well you definitely did bring winter here that's for sure" said Mr. Peterson. "Anyway, where's the one that goes by the name of Joshua Smith? Have you seen him?" asked V'yuga. "Uh, he doesn't usually come this early. He only comes close to the school's start time" said Dr. Benzschawel.

Principal Brown walks over to V'yuga and realizes that standing right near him was freezing, but he pushed it to the side. "When Joshua comes we'll tell him that you've came here looking for him, but for what reason?" asked Principal Brown. V'yuga grabs one of Principal Brown's hands before gripping onto the bottom portion of his arm. "Listen to me very closely since I'm only going to say this once. I want Joshua to know that winter's coming" said V'yuga. "But next week is when winter starts and that's our break" said Mrs. Brown. "I see. Heh, I guess winter will be coming in spring, but for now this is farewell" said V'yuga.

V'yuga lets go of Principal Brown's arm before turning around and exiting the room. When he was gone the school returned back to its regular temperature. "That guy sure has some nerve" said Mr. Adelstein. "Yeah, but I wonder on why he wanted to see Joshua so badly. Guess we'll never know until spring" said Sir Wozniacki. Principal Brown was about to speak up but he suddenly felt a rushing pain coming his arm. Principal Brown looks at his arm to see that a small trail that was colored light blue appearing on his skin.

"What's wrong, Theodore?" asked Mr. Fisher. "I don't know. I found that there's a small trail on my arm, but it's nothing bad. It's kinda hurting me a little" said Principal Brown. Both Mr. Adelstein and Dr. Benzschawel took a look at Principal Brown's arm. "My god...I've never seen anything like this before" said Mr. Adelstein. "I have, but it was on a patient that my father had. According the notes that he took, this mark only appears before winter; however, he debunked it stating that it's nothing but a legend. Hmm... that V'yuga guy managed to turn this room into a frozen wonderland within a matter of seconds, I'm guessing that the legend is actually true" said Dr. Benzschawel. "What does that mean?" asked Mr. Beethoven.

"What I mean by this is that we might have some big trouble ahead unless we get Joshua to listen, but for now it's just going to get worse till springtime arrives" said Dr. Benzschawel. "I see. We need to tell Joshua about this" said Principal Brown. "Right. We should tell him once he comes in" said Dr. Benzschawel. "No, Roderich. School's about to start and besides all of you should head to your classrooms anyway. I would suggest that you either wit for your lunch break or after the school has ended" said Principal Brown. "Fine" said Dr. Benzschawel.

[After School]

Dr. Benzschawel listened to what Principal Brown told him to do and decided to speak to Mr. Smith after school. Luckily for him, Mr. Smith finished the paperwork that was handed to him so things wouldn't been cut short. "So you're telling me that you guys had a meeting this morning?" asked Mr. Smith. "Oh for the love of god Josh! I've told you countless times and the day before that there was going to be a meeting, but of course you had some things to do that was basketball related" said Dr. Benzschawel. "I'm sorry Roderich, I couldn't ignore the work that I get" said Mr. Smith. "Dear brother...I was going to come to your office during my lunch break, but my students managed to overflow me with their finished projects at the last minute" said Dr. Benzschawel.

"It's called a school break for a reason. Did you expected them to finish after they come back only to see that they have F's?" asked Mr. Smith. "Well of course not. We're getting off track, during the meeting everyone was getting cold due to the temperature dropping drastically. Before you ask, yes, there is heat in this building. I am aware of it. However it wasn't strong enough. Then out of the blue, we get greeted by this really tall person who seemed like he was like over 6ft" said Dr. Benzschawel. "I wouldn't say that his height was intimidating since it's average for a healthy human male. Did he seem like a giant to you by any chance?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yeah, he did. He was wearing this large black winter coat and boots. Plus he was wearing a helmet on his head along with an eyepatch over his eye" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Did any of you asked for his name?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yes. He told us that goes by many names, but most people call him the Bringer of Winter, V'yuga" said Dr. Benzschawel.

Mr. Smith's eyes suddenly widen once hearing V'yuga's name before leaning back into his chair. "By the look on your face, you seem that you know him. Is that correct?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "V'yuga...no. It can't be. That's impossible" said Mr. Smith. "What are you talking about? Did you had conflicts with him before?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "In a way yes. I've never thought that I'll hear his name again, but looks like the time has come. Oh, I never shared this to anyone not even you when I first came here, but what choice do I have? V'yuga and I used to go the same high school with each other, but before that, he used to be my best friend. Of course friendships don't last long, at least in V'yuga's case that is. He became a bully. He harassed everyone and I mean everyone, including me. So why of all places would he come here? For what reason?" asked Mr. Smith. "He was expecting to see you, but you weren't there. He told us that he has a message for you" said Dr. Benzschawel.

"What's the message?" asked Mr. Smith. "Winter's coming" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Oh geez...well I guess all we have to do is prepare" said Mr. Smith. "Are you sure about that? He literally gave the principal a mark on his arm indicating that winter's coming" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Of course I'm sure about it. If V'yuga wants to see me so badly, let him come then. I don't care what he wants, I just want him to leave me alone and never cross paths with me ever again" said Mr. Smith.


	22. Hello Old Enemy - (Chap 21)

"Alright everyone, today's the last day before winter break! After finishing your final assignment, you can go outside and be productive with the snow" said Mr. Beethoven. "Uhh...we're high schoolers, not 8 year olds" said a student. "Thanks for ruining my spirit, some kid that Tord saved" said Mr. Beethoven. "You do realize that I have a name. I'm Gregory Verso, but I people call me Greg" said Greg. "Oh right and people get confused with the names Gilbert and Wolfgang. Wolfgang is actually my stage name" said Mr. Beethoven. "That's cool" said Greg.

Meanwhile in the practice rooms, Eduardo, Jon, and Mark were going over the assignment together. "Do you have that trombone working yet Jon?" asked Eduardo. "No, it needs more brass oil" said Jon. "More brass oil? It doesn't need anymore. It should be good by now" said Eduardo. "Eduardo, I broke the reed to my baritone saxophone" said Mark. "Are you kidding me Mark? I told you plenty of times to play French horn. Why are you trying to play baritone saxophone?" asked Eduardo.

"I wanted to try something new for once" said Mark. "Geez...thanks for telling me, but I'm the one who should be playing all the different types of saxophones not you" said Eduardo. "Sorry. I'll go put this back and grab both a flute and a French horn from the instrument room" said Mark. Mark then goes out of the practice room leaving both Eduardo and Jon by themselves. "Uh Eduardo, have you noticed anything different?" asked Jon. "Yeah, I have. Getting the help that I need is making me a feel a tiny bit better" said Eduardo.

"No, not that. Ever since it became the month of December, things have been off" said Jon. "What do you mean?" asked Eduardo. "Well I found out that yesterday the temperature was a scorching 100 degrees" said Jon. "What? It's almost winter though, how could it jump to a temperature that belongs in the summertime?" asked Eduardo. "That's exactly what I asked. You might want to take a look outside and see for yourself" said Jon. Eduardo takes a look out of the window to see that all of snow the came down within the first two weeks of December has melted.

"Oh my...oh my god...it's happening. It's actually happening. They weren't kidding" said Eduardo. "We're so dead" said Jon. "Yes Jon, you're so dead and so am I, but it's mostly going to be me" said Eduardo. "What do we do?" asked Jon. "Hey now, stay calm. We just need to gather up some help" said Eduardo.

[At The Gymnasium]

Both of the two other teams were seen in the gym sitting on the bleachers that were close to the gym floor. Mr. Smith was with them looking at papers on a clipboard. "Mr. Smith, why did you call us here for?" asked Pat. "It's because I have some news that I have tell you" said Mr. Smith. "Are we going to play in the international league?" asked Edd. "No. It would be best if the members of Team Numero Uno were to tell you. Take it away boys" said Mr. Smith.

Eduardo, Jon, and Mark took the spot of being in front of their former opponents. "Uh...hey guys. It's good to see you on this fine day" said Mark. "Yeah, it's good to see you as well" said Yuu. "Hehe...oh boy...how do we put this? We...never thought the time for this wasn't supposed to come, but here we are. So...recently, we have discovered that all the snow that we got during winter break has melted" said Eduardo. "What? How is that possible? It's almost the winter solstice, you know, like it comes every December 21st" said Tom. "That's what we said, but it's true. Before and during the first weeks of the basketball season, we came into an agreement with some person in hopes of beating you guys. However, we lost like a lot of games and now, that person has decided to step foot upon the UK" said Jon.

"That's exactly right, you soft voiced weakling" said V'yuga. The lights in the gym dim as wind in the same temperature to that of winter weather as V'yuga himself has entered. "Who in god's name is that?" asked Marcus. "Ah! It's so cold that my I can't feel my lips" said Matt. "Well, well, well, it's a pleasure to meet up with the members of Team Numero Uno again. Oh and by that, I mean this will probably be the last time we see each other" said V'yuga. "V'yuga, how dare you enter Hellscape High unexpectedly. You know that there's going to be a lot of consequences about this" said Mr. Smith.

"Hehe...so we finally get to meet once more Joshua. It's been awhile since I put my eyes on you. You look different" said V'yuga. "I can say the same thing to you. Things have changed, V'yuga. That's apart of life" said Mr. Smith. "You can say that again. Last time we've faced, you were short and puny. You barely had any muscle and weighed like a leaf. But now you seem to have grown up quite a lot" said V'yuga. "It may be true that I grew a couple of inches, but I'm still the same" said Mr. Smith. V'yuga walks up to Mr. Smith before placing a hand on his shoulder and making go on one knee with him. "I have to say, that I'm impressed actually. But there is one thing that I picked out that hasn't changed about you" said V'yuga.

"And what will that be exactly?" asked Mr. Smith. "You still wear glasses right? Well regardless if you have gain some courage and motivation, you still look like sh*t" said V'yuga as he laughed. "Wow, that was unexpected" said Tord. "There goes Mr. Fisher's rule of keeping things PG-13" said Pau. "Did you really think you can just come in here and start things up again? We're adults not teenagers" said Mr. Smith. "Oh and there he goes with his voice of reason. You're Joshua Smith alright, that's for sure" said V'yuga.

"Anyway, what did you mean by "winter's coming" actually?" asked Mr. Smith. "What I mean by that is I was getting sick of tired of the people that I made a deal with ending up failing all the time. So I decided to come here to tell you this: when you break a promise of winter, winter will get its payback in the form of blood. You think that running away and hiding is a good option to avoid a brutal death of punishment? Don't even bother on doing so. No matter where you, no matter where you hide, you cannot get away from winter. Winter will always find you" said V'yuga. "So you're saying that since Eduardo and his teammates have failed to live to your expectations, you want to kill them right?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yes, but I only want to kill the green one" said V'yuga. "Green one? But I didn't do anything" said Edd. "No, not you. I meant the one who speaks in a Brooklyn accent" said V'yuga.

"I didn't do anything. All I did was get autographs from around the world" said a man with a thick Brooklyn accent. "No. I meant the one who looks Hispanic" said V'yuga. "¿Perdón (Excuse me)?" asked a Spanish dancer. "I'M TALKING ABOUT THE ONE WHO GOES BY EDUARDO!" yelled V'yuga. "Oh well yeah, we knew what you meant, but you had to be a bit clearer" said Billy. "Anyway...let's get right into killing time" said V'yuga.

"Wait! You can't just kill Eduardo right now. There's got to be another way to settle this" said Mr. Smith. "Fine. What do you have in mind?" said V'yuga. "We should have a friendly meet up like a friendly game" said Edd. "I like that. We can have a basketball game. It's your team vs my team. If you win, we'll leave you alone. However if we were to win, we'll have the sincere pleasure into squashing Eduardo's head against a wall like butter being spread by a knife" said V'yuga. "So I see. Challenge accepted then" said Mr. Smith. "Oh and that's not all. We'll also be doing the same exact thing to future losers as well. So I hope you'll be prepared" said V'yuga.

"Oh it is so on. You're going down, V'yuga" said Mr. Smith. "I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you Joshua. Now before I leave, I think I should take my trophy with me" said V'yuga. Suddenly high powered streams of icy cold wind started to blow around gym as V'yuga raised a finger and points it at Eduardo before unexpectedly freezing him solid in an ice block. "Holy French toast sticks! He just froze Eduardo" said Tom. The same winds that were used before quickly made a mist which picked up the ice block that contained Eduardo in it and places it on a backpack that V'yuga had. "Thank you for your time. See you when it's actually springtime" said V'yuga.

V'yuga then makes his departure out of the gym as the temperature returned back to normal. "He can't be serious right? We're not going to be playing against his team not especially when we're going into winter break and things will get even more difficult soon afterwards" said Billy. "That's right. You're playing against his team during your last year here" said Mr. Smith. "What do you want us to do instead?" asked Marcus. "I came into an agreement with the school board of London and have decided to send you all to America. All of you will be going to New York City to be trained for the summer" said Mr. Smith. "You can't be serious right?" asked Yanov.

"I am serious. I want you to be trained by the Psycho Wolves" said Mr. Smith. "No way! We finally get to see the Psycho Wolves in person right in the heart of New York. Somebody pinch me I must be dreaming" said Edd. "No Edward, this is real. I hope the Psycho Wolves will be willing enough to train you so you can beat V'yuga's team" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah! What are we waiting for guys? We got a mission right after exams and winter break" said Edd. "Let's do this!" said Tord.


	23. New York, New York - (Chap 22)

_After successfully dethroning the tyrant Eduardo thanks to assistance of the members of Team Red Norwegians and from both Mark and Jon, Edward and his friends celebrated with victory. Unfortunately for them, the true villain has been revealed to known as the Bringer of Winter himself, V'yuga an old foe belonging to Mr. Smith._

_V'yuga invades Hellscape High along with confronting Mr. Smith in the school gymnasium stating that Eduardo had broken a promise and now wants him dead. Luckily, Edward brings up a challenge in the form of a basketball game which V'yuga agrees to, but at a price. For the remainder of this challenge, V'yuga uses his powers of winter to trap Eduardo within a block of ice. If Edward and friends win, Eduardo will be let free and V'yuga will leave them alone but if they were to lose, V'yuga gets to kill them all._

_After V'yuga's departure, Mr. Smith reveals that he'll be sending the heroes of Hellscape High to New York where they will be trained by the one of best teams to have ever exist known as the Psycho Wolves._

_Will the Psycho Wolves train them or will V'yuga get his dreams of ending the lives of the innocent? Find out in the new saga of Dragon Ba- wait a minute...this ain't Dragon Ball Z. This isn't Dragon Ball Super neither. This is Dropshot. Wrong series. _

_Ahem...*clears throat*..._

_Find out in the new saga of Dropshot in the battle of Fire vs Ice _

_..._

_...Uh...how do I get out of here exactly...?_

At an airport that's located far from London, Edd and friends are seen all together aboard on plane heading for New York City. Of course school let out for the summer for everyone expect for these guys. A few minutes later, the plane takes off into the air. "New York, New York, take a trip here and you'll have an amazing time. Ha ha ha ha ha ha - hey!" sang Matt. "Matthew, can you please stop singing that song" said Tom. "Aw, but Thomas, it's a good song. It's really catchy. I can't help it" said Matt.

"Well if you can't help it, try singing it in your head" said Tom. "Oh, you're right. Thanks!" said Matt. Matt then stops talking and tries to not sing out loud. It was only two minutes before Matt decided to sing again. "New York, la la la la la la! La la la la la la, ho ho ho ho ho - hey!" sang Matt again. It wasn't till a person on the plane had the same idea and started singing as well.

"New York! New York! New York, New York, let us take you to Niagara Falls. You'll be captured by its charms. Ho ho ho ho ho- hey! New York, New York, we will make you understand. New York is a wondrous place. Ha ha ha ha ha!" sang the person. Matt smiles at this and claps. "Yay! Someone understands my happiness" said Matthew. "No problem. I technically know all of the words to the song since I knew three people that are apart of the Psycho Wolves" said the person. "Uh...sorry to interrupt, but I'm Edward Goldenstein and this one who cheered just now, his name is Matthew Harrison" said Edd. "Oh hello there. Where are my manners? Err...I'm Richard Anderson" said Richard.

"Richard Anderson...Anderson...hmm...I've heard of that name before, but from where exactly?" asked Edd. "By any chance have you ever heard of Corey Anderson? He's my older brother. I have other brothers as well; they're members of the best team in America. I'm also with my parents for this trip. Anyway, I'm a grade 9 Sapphire and I'm the president of the basketball club, if there is one" said Richard. "Oh that's sweet! Why do you want to be president exactly?" asked Edd. "That's because I've gotten the chance to gain some follow up support although my life. I also want to be apart of the basketball season, but I'm planning on joining when I turn 16" said Richard. "That's awesome! We're always looking for some extra help" said Edd. "Oh and before go back to your seat or when the plane lands, I kinda lied there. There actually is a basketball club, you're welcome" said Richard.

[In New York City]

Once the plane had landed in the airport in New York, a bus along with a tour guide were waiting. "Ah, you must be the people that Mr. Smith had told me about" said the tour guide. "Yes, we are" said Marcus. "Well then, welcome to New York where dreams come true. Please, follow me onto the bus for the tour" said the tour guide. Everyone follows the tour guide onto the bus as they got out of the parking lot and went down a road leading to the city. Eventually when reaching to the first part of New York City, everyone was amazed to see so many buildings and billboards that light up.

"Woah, this is so cool!" said Hellucard. "The Psycho Wolves weren't lying when singing that song, New York is a wonderful place" said Billy. "I know right? Look over there, that's the building where Broadway musicals are hosted at" said Marcus. "And hey, we're in the Manhattan area" said Yuu. "Hey guys! We're passing by the Empire State Building and my god, it's bigger than I could possibly imagine" said Tom. "Of course it is. Look! It's the World Trade Towers. They're so beautiful, that I'm literally crying right now" said Tord.

"Wait...I thought the towers were destroyed" said Tom. "Oh no, they're not. This is a different universe and this is basically a world that involves Edward in it, so both of them don't have to follow any certain rule" said Tord. "What...?" asked Tom who seemly confused at what Tord just said. "Oh it's nothing. It's just complicated physics, so don't worry about it" said Tord. "So where are we heading to?" asked Pat. "Are we going to some place that is all about fine dining and breathing?" asked Jon.

"What kind of place are you talking about, Jon? That has to be the most ridiculous thing that I've ever heard of" said Mark. "We're heading to a hotel. Not just any hotel, but one of the most finest hotels in all of New York" said the tour guide. "The most finest? But we don't have that kind of money for that. We're high schoolers" said Mark. "Ah, that may be true, but Mr. Smith and all of the teachers managed to cover all the expenses" said the tour guide. "Woah! So, uh, how long does it take to get to this hotel?" asked Jon. "How long? We're already here" said the tour guide.

"Oh" said Jon. "Oh my god! This hotel is nice! How old is it?" asked Edd. "This is the Algonquin Hotel, one of the oldest hotels that's still standing to this day. It was built in 1845 and didn't open till 1903" said the tour guide. "That's cool! So, what makes it the finest hotel then?" asked Edd. The tour guide snaps his fingers as porters came out of the doors of the hotel. "These guys right here, they're here to help you get to your own rooms along with taking care of all of your needs and wants" said the tour guide.

Matt steps out of the bus as two porters walked up to him. One took his bags while the other gave him a mirror and gave him a trim up. "I look gorgeous! I like these guys. They know how to treat someone like me with respect since I'm important" said Matt. "Boys, please take these nice young men to their rooms at once please" said the tour guide. The porters did what they were told and escorted everyone to their own respective rooms. Edd was the last one to get escorted to his room.

"Here you are Mr. Goldenstein, your very own room. It is basketball themed made specially for you" said the porter. "Gee this is awesome! Thanks!" said Edd. "No problem. The concierge will be visiting you shortly, but for now I must head back to work. Oh and if the concierge isn't here, I'll be happy to help you. Also my name is Connor. See you later" said Connor before leaving the room. Edd walks over to the bed and sat on it before noticing a phone on a small table. Edd picks it while dialing a number. "Hello, this is the front desk clerk speaking. How can I help you?" asked the clerk.

"Hi, I was wondering if you can ring up Room 305 for me. I would like to talk to them" said Edd. "Sure thing" said the clerk. Edd waits for a minute until the phone dials Tom. "Hello, who is this?" asked Tom. "Hey Thomas, it's me Edward" said Edd. "Oh hey man. What room are you in?" asked Tom.

"I'm in Room 304" said Edd. "304? You're like literally next door to me! Why are you calling when you just come over to my room?" asked Tom. "I didn't want to bother you" said Edd. "Oh, I see. Hang on, someone's calling me on another line" said Tom. Tord was the one who was dialing Tom's number. "What's up Jehovah's Witness?" asked Tord.

"Oh god it's you. What do you want commie?" asked Tom. "Hey! Don't call me that! Anyway, I just wanted to say hi. I'm in Room 306 by the way" said Tord. "You are? Dude, you're next door to me. That's so cool!" said Edd. "Edward? What are you doing on the phone line?" asked Tord. "I was talking to Thomas, till you came on. Oh, don't say anything, I have someone calling me. So be quiet" said Edd. "Sure" said Tord.

"Don't worry, we'll be silent like ninjas" said Tom. Edd gets a call from Matt. "Hey is this the people who run the spa? I would like to make an appointment" said Matt. "This isn't the front desk Matthew. This is me, Edward" said Edd. "Oh, hi Edward! Fancy calling you at such a lovely time of the day" said Matt. "You do realize that you're calling me at midnight right?" asked Edd.

"Oh really? Well who cares? My beautiful self comes first not time" said Matt. "Yeah whatever. What do you want?" asked Edd. "I've been wondering, can we go to Town Square and Rockefeller Center?" asked Matt. "Why?" asked Edd. "I want to go shopping and I want to perform with the Rockettes" said Matt. "Uh okay...? You do know that the Rockettes are a female group and even if you were to join, I guarantee that you'll probably break something once you kick your legs up into the air" said Edd.

"Nonsense! I got this. Oh, sorry if you're hearing the sound of me spraying stuff in my hair. I'm getting ready so we can meet the Psycho Wolves. I must look presentable" said Matt. Matt sprays more stuff on his hair as Tord was starting to cough despite trying so hard not to make a sound. "Did you heard that? It sounded like coughing. I think there's a ghost in my room! Help me Edward!" yelled Matt. "Calm down! What room are you in?" asked Edd. "I'm in Room 307. Please you have to save me! I don't want to die" whined Matt. "Hva pokker (What the heck)!?" yelled Tord.

"Hey, that voice sounded pretty familiar" said Matt. "Nice going Tord! You just blew our cover" said Tom. "Thomas? Tord? What are you guys doing?" asked Matt. "Crap!" said Tom. "Hahahaha! You got caught!" said Tord while laughing. "Shut up!" yelled Tom.

"I'm confused" said Matt. "Don't be. It turns out that we're all in one hall, but we're in rooms that are in order from each other" said Edd. "Oh I see. So can we go exploring tomorrow?" asked Matt. "No. I can't believe we're all calling each other on the same line" said Edd. "We're on the same line!? Cool! Hey Thomas, care to go shopping with me?" asked Matt. "No thank you" said Tom.

"Come on Thomas, don't be a downer" said Tord. "Ugh...I'm tired of this conversation. Goodnight" said Tom before hanging up. "Aw...I wanted to spend some time with Thomas. Oh I know! Tord, you're not doing anything, care to hang out with me?" asked Matt. "Nei (No)!" yelled Tord as he hung up. "I think you called them at the wrong time. Anyway I'm about ready to go to sleep. See you in the morning" said Edd before hanging up. Matt puts the phone down before a single tear comes down from his eye. "I have no friends" said Matt.


	24. O' Captain, my Captain - (Chap 23)

Connor the porter who've shown Edd his room the day before was seen putting multiple shopping bags onto the bus. "Why are these bags so heavy!?" asked Connor. "It's because the one wearing the purple shorts spends a lot of time and money getting himself groomed" said the tour guide. "I hate to break this up, but one of you lovely gents forgot about the last bag" said Matt. "I'll get it" said Connor. Connor picks up the bag only to struggle with it a bit.

"What in the name of- grr...this one is even heavier than the last three" said Connor. Connor had no choice but to drag the bag all the way to the bus. "What is in this bag? Rocks or something?" asked Connor. Connor then makes an attempt to push the bag up the stairs of the bus, but he wasn't quick enough to stop the bag from falling. The bag falls down the stairs as it immediately opened up once it landed on the ground. Like a psychic, the bag actually had rocks in it.

"Hey, I was actually right the whole time. Why are there rocks in this bag?" asked Connor. "How dare you question on my packing and shopping skills!" said Matt. "I don't care about any of your skills, as long as they're not outrageously stupid" said Connor. "Are you calling me stupid!? I'm not stupid! Also, why did you throw away my milk carton?" asked Matt. "The milk was expired and it was sticking up your room" said Connor. "YOU'RE EXPIRED!...And you also smell bad too" said Matt.

"Matthew! So sorry about his behavior. It won't happen again, I swear" said Edd. Edd then grabs Matt's hand and forcefully drags him with him. "Where are we going?" asked Matt. "Obviously somewhere far away. I don't want us to be held responsible for you picking up a fight with someone who's clearly doing their job" said Edd. "But that porter started it" whined Matt. "I don't care! We're in a different place, a different country, and apparently a whole different continent all together. Act like you're mature" said Edd.

"Fine, but just admit that he shouldn't threw away my milk carton" said Matt. "Matthew, let's face it, I would've thrown it away myself since it smelt so bad. I think it had mold forming on it as well" said Edd. "Yo! What took you guys so long?" asked Hellucard. "Oh sorry, we were just busy putting Matthew's junk onto the bus" said Edd. "I see. When you were gone, we had a little trouble getting across the street since traffic here in New York doesn't play any games" said Billy. "Play no games? We haven't noticed it. Guess we were talking so much that we didn't pay any attention" said Edd.

"So where are we heading to again?" asked Jon. "We're going to meet the Psycho Wolves at their gym or to be simple, their school" said Pau. "But New York City is a huge area filled with many buildings. How are we going to find it?" asked Tom. "Easy, we'll be following directions. I had both Yanov and Yuu take the time to create a map" said Pat. "Cool! Let's get it on" said Edd.

[A Couple Minutes Later]

After following the simple directions on map, despite taking a few wrong turns here and there, everyone has found the school. "This school looks amazing" said Tord. "What's the name of it?" asked Hellucard. "This school is called Townsend Harris High School. It's one of the best high schools in all of New York" said Pat. "And let's not forget that this where the greatest basketball team in all of America is home to. Now how do we get in?" said Edd. "Probably the front entrance; however, I doubt that since the school year has ended the door would be locked" said Pat.

"Well we're not just going to stand here until the answers come to us. We're going in" said Marcus. The players from Hellscape High walked down the pathway that leads up to the school's entrance and once going up to the front doors, Pau tries opening the doors only to receive nothing. "It's locked. What do we do now?" asked Pau. "Hmm...hey! There's a gym around here, maybe we can go through there" said Tom. "Great idea Thomas!" said Edd. They walked around the school where the gym is located at and came across a door.

Surprisedly the door was open and they walked inside the gym only go be surrounded by darkness. "It's so dark in here. Why is it dark?" asked Billy. "There's got to be a light switch around here somewhere. Please find it, I'm afraid of tripping over something" said Matt. Suddenly they were all tied up by rope by something or someone that was lurking in the darkness before getting tossed in a large circle of light. Out of the darkness came out a person wearing the Psycho Wolves team jersey. "What are you doing here intruders?" asked the person.

This person had a Japanese accent which got the attention of Marcus. Another person who was wearing a jersey but with a different number came out of the darkness shortly after. "I see that you've caught some intruders who thought that they could come in and steal something from us. Good work Yuta" said the second person. This second person had a Korean accent. "Woah, woah, steal something from you? Why would we do that? We're not bad people" said Edd. "Really? You are? Jong-min, check to see if the one with the green shorts is telling the truth" said Yuta.

Jong-min walks up to Edd and takes a closer look at him. "He's telling the truth" said Jong-min. "Very well. Ralph, Travis, untie them" said Yuta. The two people who were responsible for using ropes to tie up Edd and his friends quickly freed them from their bonds. This time a different person walked up to them. "Why hello there new people! I'm Alfred Jones. What brings you guys here?" asked Alfred.

"Oh well, first off my name Edward Goldenstein and these are my friends. We came all the way to America just to see the one and only best team your entire country" said Edd. "All the way from where exactly? No no no, don't say anything. Let me guess...you guys are from England, right?" asked Alfred. "Yes! That's correct!" said Edd. "Sweet! That was my first guess. I didn't even try. Oh and by the way, the person who came out the shadows first, his name is Yuta Watanabe and the one who was checking to make sure you weren't lying is Lee Jong-min" said Alfred. "It's nice to meet you both. Yuta...I see that you came from Japan, just like me" said Marcus. "Why are you talking to me for?" asked Yuta.

"Hey! These guys are our visitors, we don't want any tensions. So be respectful please" said Alfred. The lights in the gym suddenly turned on as the sounds of chains rattling and bagpipes were heard. A person wearing a kilt was seen coming into the gym while playing the bagpipes as the chains around their chest rattle each time they move. The person then gets slapped in the back of the head by someone else who was behind him. "Would stop playing those bloody things of pure torture already! Nobody wants to hear them, Seamus. Also put your shirt on shirt back on. You do realize that people can literally see you from a five story building, right?" asked the person who slapped the one who was playing the bagpipes. "Leave me alone Allistor! I, Seamus Anderson the bearer of the Scottish flag tattoo and chains, can do whatever I please" said Seamus.

"Oh no, you cannot! You do realize that there's children all over the place? Be mindful of your surroundings" said Allistor. "Like I care about them..." said Seamus. "Hey, knock it off you two! Does your brother Arthur, have to do everything around here?" asked Arthur as he came out and pulled both Allistor and Seamus by the ear. "Umm...you must be the brothers that Richard was referring to" said Edd. "Richard? You mean our little brother, Richard?" asked Allistor. "If that's the case then...where are our manners? I'm Arthur Anderson" said Arthur.

"I'm the one who slapped Seamus and I can be easily spotted by my red hair and my Irish accent. Anyway...the name's Allistor Anderson" said Allistor. "I think you don't need any way to tell that it's me, besides my lovely Scottish accent. I'm Seamus Anderson and do me a favor, I don't want you taking me lightly" said Seamus. "I'm one of the two people who had the ropes. I'm Travis, Travis Williams and I hail from New Brunswick, Canada" said Travis. "Ah it's nice to know another Canadian like myself" said Hellucard. "And I'm Ralph Jett, the master of boomerang trickery that came from the outbacks of Australia" said Ralph.

"Okay. Since you've introduced yourselves, allow the rest of my friends to tell you their names" said Edd. "No need for that. We already knew, since Richard told us everything" said Yuta. "Oh! Didn't know that. So Alfred, is this the team?" asked Edd. "No, there's more players than this. Unfortunately they're not here because of vacations and family related stuff, but I'll be happy to name them off one by one" said Alfred. "Please do so" said Pat. "First off we got this player who's very brutal on the court, his name is Messia Ricki and he's from Brazil" said Alfred.

"I see. So there's a bunch of players that are basically apart of your school's international program. Nice" said Mark. "Continuing on, there's two players that get mixed up with one another due to their languages being quite similar. They're respectively from Spain and Italy; their names are Antonio Fernández and Romano Lombardi" said Arthur. "So you guys have a Spaniard and an Italian. They seem like good people" said Yanov. "Yes, they're nice people although they're at each other's throats all the time. I wish it was that way when dealing with Seamus" said Allistor. "Tch! Whatever loser" said Seamus. "What did you just call me!?" yelled Allistor.

"Quiet you two! I'm talking. Anyway...we have Ludwig Würz and he's from Germany" said Arthur. "Cool! I can't wait to meet him" said Edd. "About that...he doesn't know a single word of English, plus we have a Norwegian player that gets frustrated real easy at times" said Arthur. "There's a Norwegian player!? You mean, you have someone that came from my home country? I must know his name" said Tord. "Easy there. His name is Kristoff Hansen and he's the son of the person who've created and designed Airjets" said Arthur. "No way. Kristoff's the son of the maker for a shoe brand that I want!? I need to get his autograph right now" said Edd.

"Anyway...is that all?" asked Pat. "No, there's Nicolaas Voorveld. He's from the Netherlands meaning that he's a Dutchman" said Yuta. "Awesome! Now we just need to see the team captain" said Edd. "Why of course, our team captain would be very happy to meet you all. We just need to tell him that you're our guests" said Alfred. "Tell your team captain about what?" asked a hoarse voice shortly before coughing. At the other side of the gym the team captain appears wearing his outfit from Mr. Smith's video presentation.

"Which one of you idiots thought it was a great idea to create a shrine statue made out of lilacs? You know that I'm highly allegoric to lilacs as you can see that it's messing up with my vocal cords" said the team captain. "Ah it's the team captain that's dressed up as Akali from League of Legends, but without the helmet or bandana" said Tord. "And what are these bozos doing in our gym? Which one of you let them in?" asked the team captain. "These "bozos" came all the way from the UK just to see us" said Alfred. "This is why the term second in command shouldn't be forgotten. Anyway, before you simpletons ask for my name, it's Anthony, Anthony von Rudolph. I don't use the "von" part in my name, but I have to be formal whenever I meet someone new. Also to keep things simple, just call me Tony. Anyway what brings you into our domain?" asked Tony. "Oh great Psycho Wolves and team captain, we have came far and wide looking for you. The reasoning why we're here is because winter has threatened London" said Edd.

"Hmm...is this some kind of sick joke?" asked Tony. "No! We came from Hellscape High as ordered by our disciplinary teacher, Mr. Smith, to inform you that an old enemy known as V'yuga has returned to seek revenge. He even froze the team captain of Team Numero Uno" said Edd. "V'yuga? We have heard of him, but we have nothing to do with this "winter is coming" situation. You see, V'yuga has the power to bring winter despite the temperature being warm. According to your story, V'yuga stopped winter from coming to the UK mostly all of Europe" said Arthur. "So...are any places besides here and the UK that doesn't have winter?" asked Yuu. "Well America hasn't been touched, not yet at least. So far Europe and the UK are stuck in no snow phase. Technically if any place in the world that is normally tropical all year long, then there's a slight chance were it's going to be freezing cold" said Jong-min. "I see" said Yuu.

"Anyway...what made V'yuga come to the UK in the first place?" asked Arthur. "Uh...Eduardo, our friend, made a deal with him in hopes of winning the entire basketball season. Unfortunately, our team lost so many times that it kinda broke the deal. Currently, he remains frozen within a block of ice. He'll be set free once we play against his team" said Mark. "You mean you're going to challenge the Firebirds in a game of life and death!? Are you out of your bloody minds?" asked Seamus. "The Firebirds?" asked Tom. "The Firebirds are a very notorious team to have ever exist. They are cold and ruthless. They only care about making their opponents bleed to death more than having a friendly game. Oh...you have made a grim mistake and so has Eduardo" said Tony. "Yeah we know. We need you to train us so we can have an advantage against them" said Marcus.

"Ahahaha! Oh you can't be serous, now can you? You want us to train you for a game against death? That is the most funniest thing that I've ever heard of" said Tony. "This isn't funny, we're being serious. You're our only help" said Yanov. "And I'm being serious here as well. We're not helping and besides we're not involved with your little dilemma" said Tony. "So we're on the same page I see. I hope that you guys can teach us something at least" said Edd. "Are you deaf or something? This is none of our business. If you want help, I suggest you should go to Sacramento and bother the Night Hawks instead of bothering us" said Tony. "But you can't turn down this offer just like that" said Billy. "Too bad, I just did. Anyway...I have some important matters that I must intend to. I suggest that you should leave now. You wouldn't make me late now would you? End of discussion" said Tony.


	25. I Need A Hero - (Chap 24)

The next day, Tord was seen in the streets of Town Square doing his dance moves till he accidentally bumped into something. "Oh god, I am so sorry. I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" asked Tord. "Yeah I'm fine. No need to apologize" said the person. Tord then notices that this person had a Norwegian accent. "Wait...that accent...it's like mine. Are you by any chance from Norway?" asked Tord. "Why of course I am! Besides I can tell that your from Norway as well. Anyway, I'm Kristoff Hansen and I'm the triggered happy player of the Psycho Wolves" said Kristoff.

"Oh my god! You are that player that Arthur was talking about" said Tord. "Arthur? You mean Arthur Anderson, the brother of both Allistor and Seamus Anderson? So...you came all the way from the motherland just see me?" asked Kristoff. "Well actually I came from the UK, but yeah, I came here with my friends just to see your teammates" said Tord. "Oh I see. It's always an honor to meet those who look up to us as inspirations" said Kristoff. "Really? Focus Tord, you're not here to embarrass yourself. Yeah...I thought you went back to Olso to see your family" said Tord. "Oh that? My flight got delayed multiple times. Today I tried boarding but it got cancelled. Anyway so your name is Tord? Cool name! By the way, your dance moves are wickedly awesome" said Kristoff.

"Thank you! Now back on topic, the reason why we came here was to see if you guys would be willing to train us before we face against the Firebirds. Unfortunately once telling your captain about our current situation, he said that he's not helping us" said Tord. "Ah Tony, you're a stubborn boy aren't you? Yeah the reason why he said no is because in all of our experiences, we have never faced off against the Firebirds. If we ever did played against them, it would've been a tied game and besides training another team is like bad mojo" said Kristoff. "Oh I see. So I guess we're going to die thanks to V'yuga giving the earth eternal winter then" said Tord. "True, but what if I were to tell you, that I would be giving you an entire list of all our team workouts?" asked Kristoff. "What? You would actually do that?" asked Tord. "Of course I would! I will also be giving you sport headbands, wristbands, blank sheet music, and a pair of Airjets for you and every one of your friends" said Kristoff.

Kristoff then hands Tord a bag which contained all the stuff along with a folder that contained the blank sheet music and a list of workouts that the Psycho Wolves have. "This. is. AWESOME! Hey, why did you give me sheet music for?" asked Tord. "Like the Psycho Wolves, you're going to have your very own song to perform to show those Firebirds what you're made of" said Kristoff. "Ah yeah! We're going to be monsters" said Tord. "More like mon-stars. Now go show your friends everything that I just gave you. I hope that I get to see you on the court for your big day" said Kristoff. "Thanks again! I hope to see you guys there as well" said Tord. Kristoff gives off a small smile before walking away.

[At The Hotel]

Everyone was seen sitting in a row of chairs in the hotel's lounge as Tom was doing tally marks on a chalkboard that was right in front of them. "Does anyone have anymore last wishes before we all get murdered?" asked Tom. "For the last time Thomas, I told you not to make everyone speak out their final prayers. Even Marcus told you no" said Edd. "I know. Let's just face the facts that we're completely screwed. I can't believe that you would make me leave London and board a plane to New York only to get told that everything is hopeless" said Tom. "I didn't make you come Thomas! Mr. Smith told us to go to New York and get trained. Let's not forget, that he wants us to stay here for the entire summer" said Edd. "Well he thought wrong about doing so" said Tom.

"What!? What are you talking about? He didn't!" said Edd. "Edward, open your eyes! You heard what Tony said, the Psycho Wolves aren't going to help us. What's even worse is that he didn't seem to care" said Jon. "Don't you dare bring up what happened yesterday, Jon. Don't give up hope. Not just yet" said Edd. "But we already did. I know that we're in this because of Eduardo, but the more I think about his current state, the more I come to a conclusion that he's most likely dead. Heck, he was probably already dead when V'yuga froze him solid" said Mark. "Mark, please don't say that. Eduardo's still alive, I can feel it. His stubbornness makes him invincible to anything that touches him" said Edd. "Invincible to anything yes, but not sub-zero temperatures" said Mark.

"I can't believe that I'm actually hearing this right now. But...I suppose you're right. Why did Mr. Smith made the decision of trusting us. We were all doomed from the start. Let's just go back to our rooms, pack up our stuff, and leave at night. Oh, why would we accept Mr. Smith's wishes in the first place?" asked Edd. Before they could leave, the doors suddenly gets kicked wide open as a drill sergeant comes walking in. "What the?" asked Hellucard. "Attention! I am Sgt. Ermey and I was brought here by devil horns" said Sgt. Ermey. Sgt. Ermey then steps to the side as Tord came in. "Tord, where did you get this guy from?" asked Pau.

"Oh, I found him at a memorial site, but before that, I've encountered Kristoff Hansen out in the streets of Town Square" said Tord. "You did!? What did he say?" asked Edd. "He told me that he knew that Tony would say no into helping us, so he went against his back and gave us stuff. He gave us new sports stuff, sheet music, Airjets, and a list of the workouts that the Psycho Wolves do" said Tord. "Awesome! Looks like we had a member from that team that was actually on our side. Let's get training" said Marcus. "That's the spirit! Now let's get to work, maggots!" said Sgt. Ermey. Sgt. Ermey then blows his whistle thus activating...

_EXTREME FULL BODY WORKOUT x5 _

_...Or also known as the workout montage scene...I really don't know..._

Monday (which is today): Chest/Triceps Workout

"I didn't know that there was a bench press literally named after Arnold Schwarzenegger" said Tom. "Well now you know" said Sgt. Ermey. "Sgt. Ermey, sir! How long do these type of workouts last?" asked Edd. "Marcus, would you be so kind to tell him?" asked Sgt. Ermey. "Yes sir! First for the bench press, you will be doing this for about 30 each" said Marcus. "I see. Sounds good to me" said Edd.

Tuesday: Legs/Abs Workout

"Oh look, there's jump ropes! Does anyone want to play double dutch with me?" asked Matt. Out of nowhere Sgt. Ermey walks up to Matt and blows his whistle right in his ear. "Private Snickers Bar, these jump ropes aren't for your weird singing games on the playground. They're for getting your legs in tip top shape. Now don't just stand there...start JUMPING!" yelled Sgt. Ermey. Matt then starts jumping with the jump rope. "Uhh...how long do I have to do this for?" asked Matt. "You need to do for about 45 times and perhaps more than that within two minutes" said Sgt. Ermey.

"Oh that doesn't sound bad" said Matt. "Are you sure? You might want to check your math" said Sgt. Ermey. Matt looks at Sgt. Ermey in confusion before suddenly realized that he got his math wrong. "Oh...my...god...I'm going be here for awhile. Oh geez..." said Matt.

Wednesday: Rest, just rest

"I got one Jack" said Tord while putting a card in the middle of the table. "BS" said Tom. "Are you sure? Hmm...let me just take all of these cards then" said Tord. Tord then proceeds to take the cards that were in the middle of table shortly before handing them to Tom. "Wait what!? Are you kidding me!? ARGH! I HATE THIS GAME SO MUCH!" yelled Tom. "Heh, that's what you get for calling Tord out Thomas. You know that Tord is an honest man" said Edd. "That's right, classic stupid Tom" said Tord before laughing. "Oh would you just shut up already?" asked Tom.

Thursday: Back/Shoulders/Biceps Workout

"Tord, what are you doing?" asked Billy. "I'm doing pull-ups. Why are you asking?" asked Tord. "Well I see that you're doing the correct number for them which would be 24 minutes, but you're doing it wrong. You're supposed to be pulling yourself up with two arms on a bar not twirling back and forth between bars. You're a basketball player not an Olympic gold medalist in the gymnastics competition" said Billy. "Oh...whoops" said Tord. "It's fine. Next time remember my words. It's also my turn to do pull-ups by the way" said Billy. "I guess I wasn't paying attention to the time" said Tord. "Yeah, you sure weren't" said Billy.

Friday: Legs/Abs Workout (again)

Both Tom and Edd were seen doing box jumps for about 24 minutes while everyone else was either doing band resisted lay-ups or lunge jumps. "Man this week has been busy" said Tom. "Yeah it has been, but at least we know what type of workouts that the Psycho Wolves have. Hopefully all of us can be at their level" said Edd. "Yes, and when this is over I'm going to spend a lot of time with my chinchilla" said Tom. "You have a chinchilla?" asked Edd. "Yeah I do. Remember when I said that my parents wouldn't allow me to get a pet? I basically went behind their backs and secretly gotten a chinchilla" said Tom. "Sounds cool! I hope your chinchilla and Ringo will get along nicely" said Edd. Before Tom could respond, he suddenly lost his balance and ended up falling in a trash can that was near by. "I'm okay" said Tom.

Pretty much after the first entire week of training hard and long actually took its toll. What this means is that everyone did the following exercises with each workout all the way from the early weeks of June up until mid August. They even played more basketball than just angering Tom in the game of BS. Oh and for planking, Pau was actually planking on the ground...in a very hardcore and extreme fashion. Yeah...you heard that right.

After finishing the Friday scheduled routines, Tony unexpectedly comes into the workout room only to see how ripped Edd and friends were. "What the heck?" asked Tony quietly. Edd turns to face Tony. "Oh hey Tony. Guys, Tony's here" said Edd. "Where did you get the muscles from?" asked Tony. "Oh that? We took upon ourselves to train with the help of Sgt. Ermey" said Edd.

"Oh I see. Hmm...how you've managed to train yourselves kinda reminds me of something familiar" said Tony. "Oh! We were given an entire list of the workouts that you and your team does" said Matt. "Matthew, you weren't supposed to tell him that. Oh god, Kristoff is so going to kill us" said Tord. "What!? Kristoff gave you knuckleheads a list of the workouts that I have the Psycho Wolves do!? Why that little- forget it, I'll deal with him later, but for now, it had to come out around sooner or later. Anyway what's with the outfits?" asked Tony. "We came to an agreement into forming a team like how it was supposed to be by combining the three former teams into one" said Marcus. "That's right! You're now looking at the Hellscape Zombeh Rangers or also known as the HZR" said Edd.

"Yeah! We even put a lightning bolt striking a zombeh's hand for a logo. Isn't it cool?" said Tord. "Sure, I guess" said Tony. "Awesome! Now before we go back to the UK, do you have any words of encouragement?" asked Edd. "No, not really since it's none of my concern. However, I'll let this slide...for now" said Tony. "Yay! Tony's going to give us a speech. Finally, I'll be getting recognition here in New York. I'll be famous!" said Matt. "God you're so gullible and stupid. Anyway...listen closely members of the Hellscape Zombeh Rangers, because I'm only going to say this once and never again. You all have trained long and hard during the time between June all the way to August and now you're ready. You are ready to face off against the Firebirds, one of the most ruthless teams in all of basketball history and of all time. Eduardo made the grim mistake of striking a deal with V'yuga and now the Firebirds don't want to cope with a simple handshake, they want revenge and blood. It may sound a bit farfetched, but it's all true and I know you can beat them in a game that matters between life and death. You must head into that court with your heads up and spirits burning a flare, like a phoenix raising up from its own ashes. This ain't any other game, you have entered the phase of where winter's coming but mostly the battle of fire and ice" said Tony.

"So we're the representation of fire then? I like it! Thank you Tony and say, I guess that it makes us friends right?" asked Edd. "Pfft...yeah right. Don't even bother on holding your breath. Once you've return to the UK, tell Mr. Smith everything that just happened and continue your training. I hope we can meet again, if you live to tell the tale that is" said Tony.


	26. The End Is Nearing - (Chap 25)

In a old abandoned observatory that was located in a secret place somewhere far from the UK, the sounds of chains can be heard as they rattled very loudly passed many darken corridors. As the chains made a clanking sound, coughs can be heard along with splashes of water. "Are you ready to talk now?" asked a gruff voice. "I don't think he has learned. I suppose we should dump him in again" said another voice that sounded smooth. "You fools! Do you think that by simply dumping him into ice cold water is going to solve anything?" asked V'yuga. The person that they were referring to was no other than Eduardo.

When V'yuga brought Eduardo into the observatory, he unfroze him just to get him spill out some information. Eduardo was gasping while trying to keep his heart circulating despite how cold the water is. "Joseph and Vladimir, I want you to bring our prisoner someplace warm" said V'yuga. Both Joseph and Vladimir did what they were told and escorted Eduardo to a different place that was warm before strapping him down on a table. "Oh, what did you boys bring me this time?" asked a maniacal sounding voice. Eduardo turns his head to see a scientist with black hair with sideburns that had white stripes on each side. The scientist was also wearing a black shirt and tan pants, and a lab coat similar to that of Dr. Benzschawel.

"Who are you?" asked Eduardo. "Why I'm the scientist and the doctor to the Firebirds and the best friend of V'yuga. I go by Dr. Furmanov and my oh my, it looks like you're my 100th visitor today. Congratulations!" said Dr. Furmanov. "Stop messing around, Ivan" said V'yuga as he came into the room. "Ah V'yuga, what brings you here to my humble laboratory?" asked Dr. Furmanov. "Oh, I just want to make sure that you'll punish Eduardo very, very harshly" said V'yuga. "Of course I will. I know exactly what to do" said Dr. Furmanov.

Eduardo watches Dr. Furmanov as he walks over to a table that was covered with many test tubes that was filled with rainbow colored liquid that was flowing inside them. There were a couple of beakers and serums that were filled with something, mostly different substances that were colored differently. "Now which one would be the most suitable for me to use on you? Ah...I know exactly what to us" said Dr. Furmanov. Once finding a test tube to his liking, Dr. Furmanov picks it and goes over to a counter while putting whatever was in the tube into a needle. Eduardo notices something off about the substance once it was placed into the needle. It gave off a hard to see yet clear picture of a purple skull made up by bubbles shortly before disappearing. Eduardo gulps in fear as he whines.

Dr. Furmanov hears this and turns his head to look at Eduardo. "Aww...are you scared of a little needle? No need to panic, I only want to see you cry that is all" said Dr. Furmanov with a slight chuckle. Dr. Furmanov approaches Eduardo with the needle in hand as Eduardo tries to move around but couldn't break free. As Dr. Furmanov was close enough to him, he placed a hand on Eduardo, stopping him from moving. "No need to worry my little genie pig, I'll make sure that it doesn't hurt. Not one bit. Now try not to scream too loudly, because no matter how loud you get, nobody can hear you" Dr. Furmanov. Eduardo whines as he started to cry while watching the needle getting closer and closer to his arm. Once the tip made contact to his skin, Eduardo let out a ear deafening scream.

[At Hellscape High]

"Welcome back my shining basketball stars. Did you enjoyed being in New York as your summer vacation?" asked Mr. Smith. "We sure did!" said Tord. "We saw a whole lot of things. The Psycho Wolves were right, New York is a wondrous place" said Matt. "I see. Did you get the chance to train with them?" asked Mr. Smith. "Well kinda. Their team captain rejected our offer, but luckily a player named Kristoff Hansen gave us an entire list of their workouts" said Marcus. "Great! I can tell since you all seem pretty muscular" said Mr. Smith.

"And that's not all, we all gotten the time to get tattoos" said Pau. "Say what now?" asked Mr. Smith sounding a bit surprised. The members of HZR took off their shirts revealing their tattoos. Edd who was first, had a tattoo of a basketball surrounded by clouds along with a Phoenix on his left arm and a tattoo of his cat Ringo, on the lower portion of his right arm. Next was Tom who had a tattoo of a shot glass that has orange in it resembling liquid on his right arm. If looked upon closely, a skull can been seen in the liquid. Tom also has a hikae on his upper left arm.

For Matt, he had tattoo of a broken mirror on his left arm. An eye is shown right in in the broken part of the mirror. Now Tord's tattoo designs has to be the most well thought one out of all of them. He had a tattoo of a black Jackal (a ARMS 13 mm Auto Combat Pistol) on his right arm. The pistol is surrounded by roses. This is a reference to the band Guns N' Roses which apparently Tord likes a lot. He also has a tattoo of a black forest with a moon above the trees on the lower portion of his left arm.

For Hellucard, he had a tattoo of a flaming skull on the upper part of his arm. For both Marcus and Billy, they both have tattoos in the style of teubori. Marcus has tattoos that covers his arms, the sides of his stomach, and his entire back forming a blue greenish sea. Marcus has a tattoo of a tiger on the bottom portion of his right arm and a black panther on the other. He has sakura tree on the upper part of his left arm and a dragon on the other. Marcus has a large tattoo of kirin on his back. For Billy, he has the same setup but they only cover his arms, breasts, and his entire back with a design of grey clouds. He was flames on the lower portions of both of his arms while he has the designs of Gozu (Ox-Face) and Mezu (Horse-Face) respectively on each of his upper arms. Billy has a large tattoo of a kouryū on his back.

Moving onto the Red Norwegians, Pat has tattoo of a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 on the upper part of his right arm; the jet is decorated with a shark mouth on its nose and a tattoo of a European dragon on his left arm. For Pau, he has a tattoo of Leo Belgicus on the upper part of his right arm. Yuu has a tattoo of a black Raven with red glowing eyes on his left arm and finally, Yanov has a tattoo of a cockatrice on his right arm.

"These are very impressive tattoos. I like them" said Mr. Smith. "Indeed they are! Oh and uh, you're forgetting about Jon and Mark's tattoos" said Edd. "Actually Edward, we've gotten these tattoos last year" said Mark. "Oh, I see" said Edd. "Jon has a tattoo of a unicorn decorated in chains in a royal fashion on his right arm, while I have a tattoo of a rose. It's on the upper part of my left arm" said Mark. Jon and Mark then show off their tattoos.

"Those look awesome! What kind of tattoos does Eduardo have?" asked Marcus. "Oh, he has a tattoo of a wolf howling at a moon. It's located in his right arm. Ironically enough, that wolf on his arm was used for our logo" said Mark. "I see. That actually makes a lot of sense" said Marcus. "So with all of this settled down, the game against the Firebirds will be creeping up soon" said Mr. Smith. "When is the game?" asked Yuu. "Obviously it won't be around the time where the early weeks of school takes place. I don't know, I need to check on that. In the meantime, you such fine young gentlemen should continue with your training and studying of course" said Mr. Smith. "Yes sir! We will train hard and continue doing our studies" said Tord. "Heh, no need to be formal with me, Tord. It's a deal then" said Mr. Smith.

[In The Teacher's Lounge]

"Wow, I never knew that this lounge can be that big" said Richard. "It's not that big once you're inside it" said Mr. Smith. "So what are we doing here? By the way, if I'm in here would I get kicked out?" asked Richard. "If you're with me, you wouldn't and second, the reason why we're here is to come up with an agreement with V'yuga" said Mr. Smith. "I see. Are we going to melt everything that has to do with winter?" asked Richard. "No. We need to pick a time and a day, where it would be appropriate where the HZR faces off the Firebirds. Besides knowing V'yuga, it's not going to be an easy task" said Mr. Smith.

"About V'yuga, what made you two hate each other in the first place?" asked Richard. "Hate each other? We didn't always hate each other. We used to be friends since grade school, but that changed once we got to high school. In 9th grade, he became violent and cold" said Mr. Smith. "What made him that way?" asked Richard. "Nobody knows exactly, but I knew because I was there. In the month of September of some random year that you'd probably don't care about, I was walking up to his house. You see school ended that day and V'yuga wanted me to come over and hang out with him at his house which I agreed to. However, he picked the wrong day for it. As soon as I've reached his house, I suddenly heard a gunshot. It took me by surprise as I ran to the source of where it came from" said Mr. Smith. "Oh my...where did it come from?" asked Richard. "It came from the backyard. When I went into it, I saw V'yuga crying over on what it appeared to be his dog, a bulldog, that was laying on the ground dead" said Mr. Smith.

"Oh my god...who shot his dog just like that? Why would they do such a thing?" asked Richard. "His father. According to his mother, V'yuga somehow made his father angry somehow. So angry that he took a shotgun and used it to shot his dog several times. V'yuga never got over it. What's even worse is that no matter what you do or say, V'yuga would just snap at you" said Mr. Smith. "I see. What were some of the things that he did throughout his high school years?" asked Richard. "Oh where do I begin with this? There's a lot of things that he did that caused trouble. First he broke a couple of school windows, lead an entire group of bullies to destroy property, burned down slides to many playgrounds at grade schools, and worst of all, he made anyone, I mean everyone, tremble before him since whoever dared to challenge him would receive a number of broken bones. Plus, it was unnatural for a kid like him to be that brutality powerful. His strength is compared to that of a rhino and a lion charging right at you at full force" said Mr. Smith. "Geez that's a lot. Was there a way to defeat him or did his power overruled all odds?" asked Richard. "He was eventually dethroned once a rebellion came out and manage to put a stop to him" said Mr. Smith.

"What was the rebellion?" asked Richard. "A more better question would be who started it and lead it to the end. It was me, a former friend. He may haven't laid a single finger on me during a three year span, but his minions bullied me left and right. They would call me names and knock my stuff out of my hands. They would sometimes stick their gum onto paper that were very important which I've spent 12 hours a day on in order to pass whatever assignment with a whole lot of credit. It was humiliating. After receiving my 150th locker shove, I had enough. I've decided to form a club that puts a stop to bullying and surprisingly in one week, I've gotten a lot of signatures and members. Together we've discussed our issues and came into an agreement that only way to stop bullying in the school was to defeat the force who was leading it. We found V'yuga and his gang, as I stepped forward to confront him" said Mr. Smith. "You actually challenged him to a showdown? That's awesome" said Richard. "Yes, I took the time out of my studies to go the weight room in the school just to build up muscle and endurance in order to face V'yuga. It's clearly obvious that I've won, but at a price. During our fight, I jumped onto his back; he was pretty tall back in the day. V'yuga thought it was a grand idea to ram me into a couple of lockers, hoping to shake me off. I tried to remain there on his back as long as I possibly can, but I slipped and fell to the ground just before V'yuga pinned me down and used a dagger to kill me. Luckily I've stopped him with both of my hands, but his dagger actually went through the flesh of my abs" said Mr. Smith. "So is that cut like a scar now?" asked Richard. "Yes it is. When I first got it, it wouldn't stop bleeding even after I've managed to knock V'yuga out. I had to go the hospital to get a lot of stitches afterwards" said Mr. Smith.

"I see. Do you still have muscles?" asked Richard. "Of course I do. Unfortunately it's hard to get to the gym since, you know, teacher salary, but I'm trying my hardest to keep up with it" said Mr. Smith. Suddenly the tv in the teacher's lounge turns on revealing Dr. Furmanov who was fumbling around with the camera. "Come on you stupid thing. Work!" said Dr. Furmanov. "Well hello there, Ivan. It's good to see you again" said Mr. Smith. "Huh? Ah, Joshua, longtime no seen. You sure have gain a couple of inches in height" said Dr. Furmanov.

Dr. Furmanov then notices Richard sitting in a chair in the background. "Why hello there little boy. What's your name?" asked Dr. Furmanov. "That's none of your concern, Ivan" said Mr. Smith. "Oh come on Joshua, I was just asking. There's no need to get defensive" said Dr. Furmanov. "Ivan, have you gotten that camera working yet?" asked V'yuga. "Yes, I have V'yuga. It's working properly just for your own use" said Dr. Furmanov.

Dr. Furmanov gets out of the way as V'yuga stood in front of the camera. "So Joshua, what's new with you?" asked V'yuga. "Nothing much. I just wanted to know if Eduardo's still alive or not" said Mr. Smith. "Oh him? Don't worry, he's alive. I've recently unfroze him a few hours ago" said V'yuga. "Really? I swear to god, if you hurt him, you're so going to pay" said Mr. Smith. "Hehehe" chuckled V'yuga.

"Laugh all you want, because you'll be defeated by the HZR who were all trained by the one and only Psycho Wolves" said Mr. Smith. "That may be true, but remember our agreement Joshua. If the Firebirds win, we get to make the world freeze to death. By the way, it's best to know that the Psycho Wolves have never faced the Firebirds before, so they don't know who they're messing with" said V'yuga. "What!? But Arthur told me that the Firebirds have been beaten by the best team of America" said Richard. "And now it's revealed that your own brother lied to you. Anyway, about the game, I was thinking about having at a time when you don't have studies" said V'yuga. "Sounds good to me" said Mr. Smith. "Ah yes, I want the game to take place in December" said V'yuga.

"Okay, what day in December would that be?" asked Mr. Smith. "December 30th, a day before New Years Eve" said V'yuga. "That's the day? Ha! It's ironic that it's currently September right now, that means we have three months to go" said Mr. Smith. "True, but what if I were to tell that December's coming a bit early this year?" asked V'yuga. "Coming early? There's no way anyone can bend time just skip through a couple of months in a year. It's impossible" said Mr. Smith. "It's not impossible unless I prove it to you" said V'yuga.

"Yeah right. If I were to look on my computer screen it will still say September 1-...December 10th...? Oh my god, he's right" said Mr. Smith. "Hahaha! Told you so! The game's going to be hosted and broadcasted worldwide in a large coliseum that is able to host half of the earth's population" said V'yuga. "Very well. I guess it's a deal. If we win, you're going to leave everyone alone and if we lose, you get to kill us all along with the Psycho Wolves. Plus you get to instill winter all over the planet for all until the earth dies" said Mr. Smith. "Yes, I like the sound of that. I hope to see your faces there and don't you dare chicken out on me like you did back then" said V'yuga. The screen then cuts to black. "I hope Edward and everyone else will be able to win this" said Richard.

"I hope so too. In that case, I want you take Eduardo's place" said Mr. Smith. "Are you sure? But I'm not capable of playing basketball just yet. Like I can barely get the basics skills of dribbling and passing the ball yet making a shot alone" said Richard. "I know that, but I'd rather take those chances of trying. Please, join the team. Besides there's probably a slight chance that you'll be great at the sport than you can ever thought of" said Mr. Smith. "You're right. I'll give it a shot. Thank you Mr. Smith" said Richard. "No, Richard, thank you. Thank you for being there for me. You, Edward, and HZR are my sparks of fire that represent hope" said Mr. Smith.


	27. The Battle of Fire & Ice - (Chap 26)

"Good evening everyone. I'm Scott Perrelli. Ashley's out for tonight, which is unfortunate since she is will be missing the ultimate basketball match of all time. That's right! Two teams are facing off in a game that determines life or death. We have the Hellscape Zombeh Rangers or better known as the HZR, hailing from the UK and we have the most ruthless team to have ever exist, the one and only Firebirds hailing from...uh..um...St. Petersburg..? Yeah, they're from St. Petersburg. Anyway, the Firebirds decided to challenge the HZR to a basketball match hosted in the world's largest coliseum used in year of the summer Olympics, right here live in Rio de Janeiro for the entire world to see. Plus it's even shown on tv right on the same time despite that all places in the world having time zones" said Scott. "That's exactly right, Scott. Hello everyone, I'm James Harding coming live from BBC News" said James. "James Harding!? What are you doing here?" asked Scott. "I'm here to watch the game obviously" said James. "Oh. Moving on. We now go to Freddie and Mason who are at the coliseum" said Scott. "Oh Scott, it's chaotic here. I mean you thousands, perhaps millions of people are crowding to get in. We've been inside the coliseum and it's actually quite packed" said Mason.

"What's even worth to mention is that everyone is trying to find parking, but unfortunately the streets are jammed due to people rushing in" said Freddie. "Sounds a little hectic if you think about it" said Jackson Williams. "Jackson!? What are you doing here in the newsroom stand?" asked James. "The door was open and I couldn't bear to miss the game. Anyway, hi there ladies and gentlemen. I'm Jackson Williams reporting live from Rio de Janeiro representing Sky News. Take it away boys" said Jackson. "Thanks Jackson, like we need your help. Sorry for the interruption. Hey Mason, did you get anything new?" asked Scott. "Yes, I did Scott. I was just standing near the food stand with Freddie as we saw the Psycho Wolves walking by" said Mason. "The Psycho Wolves? You the mean the champions who have beaten Sacramento? Is there a reason why they're here?" asked Scott. "Not really. I'm guessing they want to see who will win" said Mason. "I see. Guess after this we're going to interview them" said Scott.

[In The Locker Room]

Edd and the rest of HZR were seen their specially marked locker room getting ready for the big game. "Stop spilling water over me" said Tom. "Hey you said you wanted water, so why not just throw some at you" said Tord. "That's not what I've meant. Get away from me" said Tom. Tom runs away as Tord chased after him with a water gun. Matt who was seen standing in front of a mirror fixing his hair suddenly got sprayed in the face by water.

"My beautiful face! Why!? I literally spent two hours getting ready" said Matt. Hellucard comes up to Matt giving him a towel. "You know you shouldn't be caring about your looks when we're going in a match between life and death. It's not good for you" said Hellucard. Edd was seen sitting on a bench holding a picture in his hands as a basketball was seen next to him. The picture that he was holding displayed him along with a person. A person that Edd considered to be his best friend.

"So it's been like two years since you've died. Every time when I look at this picture, I get reminded of you and all of the great things that you did. Corey, I've always knew that you were a great friend to me even though you had to end your life due to cyanide poisoning and being trapped in a reality of bipolar depression. Despite all of that, I wouldn't even be here, at this time, and at this place. I owe you a lot. I wish could've stopped you, but the past belongs in the past while the future can be prevented. Oh and I met your brothers. I never knew that you had brothers since you've never talked about your personal life. They're pretty swell people expect for the fact that Allistor and Seamus don't get a along and Seamus himself has a lot of issues. Ever since you death, I made an oath. An oath which I kept. That oath was to play basketball and become stronger. Look at me now, I've found a team named Team PowerEdd, won the first game of the basketball season, had an arch rival who had a team of their own, made friends with two other teams known as Team Red Norwegians and the Psycho Wolves. Actually scratch that, their captain is a bit of a jerk but I think he's shy. Besides that, I've learnt the many playstyles and workout routines that I could, solved a school mystery, got a teacher fired due to betrayal, and dethroned a bully with a troubling past. I have been through a lot and now I'm in a game with the Firebirds one of the most ruthless in order to save an old enemy turned friend. Thank you Corey, this is for you and I hope you're watching because I, Edward Dylan Goldenstein, the captain of Hellscape Zombeh Rangers, the Solver Assistant of Sherlock Holmes, and the Breaker of Wheels will play against the Firebirds and V'yuga till my last breath as we take victory" said Edd.

"Uhh...Edward, I hate break your presidential speech of wisdom, but the game is about to start" said Billy. "Oh okay, I'll be right there" said Edd. Edd puts the picture of him and Corey in a locker that had his name on it before picking up the basketball and walks over to where is friends are at. A few minutes later, Mr. Smith stands in front of them with Richard by his side. "Members of the HZR, I want thank you for spending the last three weeks preparing for this moment. In the beginning of the basketball season, I had doubts that you would never come this far, but look at you, you've accomplished everything that stood in your way. If weren't for your dedication and strong spirits than things would've ended there. Oh, I've also brought Richard here so he can join the team in the place of Eduardo, who's current whereabouts and status are unknown. I want you to make him feel welcomed which you already did. Now go out there and win" said Mr. Smith. "You got it Mr. Smith!" said Pat. "We won't let these heathens get the better of us" said Jon. Mr. Smith just stands there nodding his head as a smile is seen on his face. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear. Make me proud" said Mr. Smith.

[In The Stands]

In the stands above the court, everyone who had order this tickets earlier had first debs when it came to seating. The stands were filled up with the many populations of people each from their respective country. Of course since it's a one time only event, the stands have some of the most well known people on the planet. This includes the Psycho Wolves who are seen up high in the stands where they can spectate the game. "I got the popcorn and drinks" said Arthur. "And I got the 3D glasses" said Messia. "Did one of you two get any sweets?" asked Kristoff.

"Oh please Kristoff, we're basketball players. We need to eat healthy" said Arthur. "Come on Arthur, don't be negative" said Ralph. "Are you sure that V'yuga's here, Tony?" asked Nicolaas. "Yes, I'm sure" said Tony. "Bringer of Winter, 12 o' clock!" said Yuta. "Where!?" asked Tony.

Yuta hands Tony a pair of binoculars and points out on where V'yuga's located at. Surprisingly V'yuga was seen in the bottom row that was close to the court sitting in throne as Dr. Furmanov was sitting right next to him. "Look at him all high and mighty. He thinks that he can rule the world. He is so wrong" said Tony. "Focus Tony, I know that you hate him, but remember what we're here for" said Jong-min. "We're here to see the HZR beat the Firebirds" said Romano. "Yes, and probably we get the chance to meet this Eduardo person that was being thrown around" said Antonio.

"Don't get your hopes up, Antonio" said Tony. The timer goes off stating that game was about to begin. "Ladies and gentlemen, we're here tonight to see the game of the century right here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It's the Hellscape Zombeh Rangers vs the Firebirds. Everyone make some noise" said Scott. Everyone in the stands made some noise alright, a bit too much and too loud. "Alright! Starting things off in the corner of light and hope, we got the HZR coming hailing from Hellscape High School in the heart of the UK, London" said James. "First off on the roster, we have the duo of the Y's, Yuu Tan and Yanov" said Jackson.

Everyone cheered as both Yuu and Yanov came out onto the court. "Next we have the man with the smarts, but lacks any source of caring in the world, Paul" said Jackson. Pau walks out onto the court waving a bit. "Next up we have the former captain of Team Red Norwegians, Patryck" said Jackson. Pat comes out to the court while doing a backflip. "Now we got the two men who were once the victims of constant bullying, now both fine players who now on a mission to save their friend from the Firebirds, give it up for both Mark and Jon" said Jackson.

Both Mark and Jon walked out to the court as Mark smiled while Jon was waving awkwardly to the crowd. "Moving on from the former two members of Team Numero Uno, we have the guts, the muscles, and the kid with yakuza assistants, Takashi Nagasaki also known as Marcus" said Jackson. Everyone in the stand roared in excitement as Marcus came out to the court all thug like. "Next we got the man who was in charge of basketball practice himself, Seung Jun-ho also known as Billy" said Jackson. Just like for Marcus, the crowd also went wild once seeing Billy stepping out onto the court. "Next we got the man who's apparently a hater of everything and seems drunk...oh god...I hope he's not drinking especially at an early age...plus he has no eyes, give it up for Thomas Richardson" said Jackson.

Tom came out to the court as everyone cheered. "Oh my god...do you people really need to be that loud?" asked Tom. "Next we have the energy, the spirit, and the happy triggered man who likes guns and has the word fun as his middle name, come on out Tord Fun Larckin" said Jackson. Tord runs out to court. "Thank you! Thank you!" said Tord. Tord then realizes that no one was cheering for him leaving him in dead silence.

"Oh wow...let's all just laugh at the Norwegian. I see how it is" said Tord. "What!? They didn't bother to clap for my brethren? What is wrong them?" asked Kristoff. "It's because he's a dork that's why" said Seamus. "Err...let's have a round of applause for Dominic Devereux or by his pin name, Hellucard" said Jackson. Everyone cheered as Hellucard walked out to the court. "Next up, he has the looks, he has an obsession over himself, and he's a ginger, give it up for Matthew Harrison" said Jackson.

"I thought his last name was Twinkletoes" said James. "It's not" said Jackson. Matt was seen on the court waving his hand as everyone in the stands cheered and threw flowers at him. "Nobody can resist how cute I am" said Matt. "Boo! You stink and you're nothing but a piece of trash" said Dr. Furmanov. "Last and not least, we have the former founder and captain of PowerEdd who saved Hellscape High many times. Put your hands together for Edward Dyland Goldenstein the leader of the HZR" said Jackson.

Edd steps out into the court as everyone cheered hard for him. Edd then looks to the sidelines to see Mr. Smith and Richard giving him a thumbs up. "Oh, that reminds me. We have a new member to the HZR. I present to you, Richard Anderson the brother to Allistor, Seamus, and Arthur Anderson who's on a mission to keep the legacy of his dead brother, Corey Anderson" said Jackson. Richard walks up to the center of the court and smiles. "Richard!? What is he doing with the HZR?" asked Allistor. "I'm not sure" said Arthur.

"Whatever he's doing, he making a foolish descion" said Seamus. "Oh come on you three, it's clearly obvious that your brother wants to play basketball, dudes" said Alfred. "No! We forbid it" said Arthur. "How you guys forbid it when you know that you can't always protect him forever? Face it you three, Richard is right and you're wrong. Now sit down" said Tony. The three Anderson brothers all sat down not wanting to anger their team captain. "Okay everyone settle down. Since Jackson has introduced the members of the HZR, I might as well introduce you to their competitors. Everyone turn your attention to the right" said James.

Everyone turns to the wrong way expect for the Psycho Wolves as Tony facepalms at their stupidity. "Other way...you bloody wankers...aaaannnnnd stop! Perfect. Hailing from St. Petersburg, we have the most fearsome yet ruthless team to have ever existed. They are well known to leave a game while nearly killing off their opponents. I present to you all, the one and only, Firebirds" said James. The doors to the locker room suddenly exploded as the members of the Firebirds walked out onto the court standing a couple of feet away from the HZR. "Hey, there's only seven members. I thought there would be about 15 players" said Tom. "That's where you're wrong, spiky haired one. Allow me to introduce myself, I am Joseph Furmanov and we're the Firebirds. I'm known as the fearless captain and leader of the team" said Joseph. "Wait, you're the son of Dr. Furmanov?" asked Richard.

"Ah yes, I am. Say, you must be Richard Anderson. Oh, your brothers are something. It's a shame that you're going to die today just like good ol' Corey" said Joseph. "Hehe...you sure said it Joseph! Anyway, I'm Vladimir Ulyanov. I'm the second in command after Joesph" said Vladimar. "I'm Nikolai Alexandrovich and I'm the head of planning out strategies to make sure the Firebirds win. Oh and uh, you can easily tell me apart by my bionic right arm" said Nicholas. "I'm the stronghold to the Firebirds. I go by Anastasia Nikolaevna and even though I may be the only girl on the team, don't let you guard down boys" said Anastasia. "I'm Alexei Alexandrovich and I'm in charge of making sure everything is in order. Plus I'm the brother of Nikolai" said Alexei. "I'm Dmitry and although this tall person right next to me looks like the oldest, he's only my little brother. His name is Viktor. We are known as the Lazarev brothers" said Dmitry.

"It's great to meet you all. You may already who we are since all of our names have been introduced. So, are you ready to get beaten by a heroic team?" asked Edd. "The better question would be: are you ready to die? By the way, what's with the strange hairstyles? They don't make any sense" said Joseph. "What?" asked Tord. "You with the Norwegian accent, what's with those horns? Wait...are you actually the devil in human form? Stay away beast!" said Nikolai. "I'm completely lost here" said Tord. "Don't be Tord, they're just trying to rile us up in anger" said Tom.

"You're name is Tom right? What's with the spikey hair? It makes me sick just looking at it" said Joseph. "Technically, I'm better addressed as Thomas and- hey! I have you know that my hair is special. Its name is Steve and Steve isn't going anywhere" said Tom. "Yeah, you heard him right! We like our hair exactly like it is. I'm not letting some strict hairstyle code take away something that means a lot to me" said Tord. "Hehehe...you're funny. I like you. I'm so going to save you for last" said Anastasia. "Aww, we've enjoyed this conversation, but it's time for your demise. Heh, ever heard of the dream team? Well, we're the mean team" said Joseph. "Wait!" said Edd.

"How dare you interrupt Joseph's speech! This better be good" said Vladimir. "Oh it is, don't worry. We would like to perform something for you that is bound to knock your socks off" said Edd. "And that will be what exactly?" asked Dmitry. "Oh it's our performance. Our song performance" said Hellucard. "A what? Kristoff, did you give these bozos sheet music so they have their own team song?" asked Tony. The rest of the Psycho Wolves turned their attention to Kristoff who was smiling nervously.

"Uuuuhhhhhhhhhhh...yes" said Kristoff. "When this is over, I am so going to murder you" said Tony. "You can't be serious. Fine, we'll listen to your ridiculousness" said Joseph. "Yeah, we will, but after that, we're going to make you bleed" said Alexei. "Great! Ready Alex?" asked Edd. "Yeah" said Alex.

"Marcus?" asked Edd. "You sure bet I am" said Marcus. "Brass section and instrumental section?" asked Edd. "We're all good and ready to rumble" said Yuu. "Alright fellas! Let's go!" said Edd. Marcus starts off with the beat following with Alex chiming in with guitar strums. They do this for a couple of more seconds just before Jon and Mark start playing trumpets along with instrumental section adding on to the beat.

Firebirds, there's no need to be cruel  
I said, Firebirds, pick yourselves off the ground  
I said, Firebirds, 'cause you're in a new place  
There's no need to be so unhappy

Firebirds, there's people that you can go to  
I said, Firebirds, when you're short on your dough  
You can meet them, and I'm sure you will find  
Many ways to have a good time

It's fun to hang out with the HZR  
It's fun to hang out with the HZR

We know everything to help you  
You can spend all your time with us

It's fun to hang out with the HZR  
It's fun to hang out with the HZR

You can train with us, you can have an awesome schedule  
You can do ancient martial arts

Firebirds, are you listening to us?  
I said, Firebirds, what do you want to be?  
I said, Firebirds, you can make your dreams come true  
But you got to know this one thing

No one does it all by them self  
I said, Firebirds, put your pride on the shelf  
And just go, meet the HZR  
I'm sure we can help you today

It's fun to hang out with the HZR  
It's fun to hang out with the HZR

We know everything to help you  
You can spend all your time with us

It's fun to hang out with the HZR  
It's fun to hang out with the HZR

You can train with us, you can have an awesome schedule  
You can do ancient martial arts

Firebirds, I was once in your shoes  
I said, I was down and out with the blues  
I felt no man cared if I were alive  
I felt the whole world was so tight

That's when a person came up to me  
And said, Edward, take a walk up the street  
There's a team there called the HZR  
They can start you back on your way

It's fun to hang out with the HZR  
It's fun to hang out with the HZR

We know everything to help you  
You can spend all your time with us

HZR, you'll meet the HZR

Firebirds, Firebirds, there's no need to be cruel  
Firebirds, Firebirds, pick yourselves off the ground

HZR, it's fun to hang out with the HZR

Firebirds, Firebirds, are you listening to me?  
Firebirds, Firebirds, what do you wanna be?

HZR, you'll meet the HZR

No one, Firebirds, does it all by them self  
Firebirds, Firebirds, put your pride on the shelf  
HZR, just go to the UK and meet us there  
You won't regret it

As the song ended, everyone cheered. "I have to say, not bad. Not bad at all. However, it's not enough to impress me" said Tony. "Oh come on, it was great. They had so much energy and eagerness" said Alfred. "Eagerness is a word to describe their intentions alright, but will it enough?" asked Tony. "Nicely done everyone" said Mr. Smith. "Thanks Mr. Smith! We were practicing this song for quite awhile" said Edd.

"Well the effort paid off. I guess Mr. Beethoven taught you well. Also thank you Alex for coming to this event" said Mr. Smith. "Ah It's nothing really. I didn't came here alone, my dad came as well" said Alex. "I see. Tell him that he raised some pretty cool young men" said Mr. Smith. "Oh you all may have talent, but it doesn't help to save your lives" said Dmitry. "So I guess we're starting then, right?" asked Marcus. "Indeed we are" said Joseph.

The HZR and the Firebirds all stood facing each other in the center of the court as Alex walked up holding the ball. "Oh, I'm so going to enjoy this. Ivan, bring me something to drink" said V'yuga. Dr. Furmanov nods as he went over to a cooler and pulled out a bottle. Dr. Furmanov also picks up a fancy wineglass and hands to V'yuga before pouring whatever was in the bottle into the glass. V'yuga then proceeds to take a sip from the glass making this a cue for Alex to throw the ball up into the air as both teams reached out for it. Joseph manages to get the ball as he runs to the basket shortly before Tord comes out of nowhere and snatches the ball from his hand as he ran down the court.

"Special delivery for a Mr. Richardson also known as my best friend Thomas" said Tord. Tord throws the ball to Tom who catches it. "I'm not your best friend, but whatever" said Tom. Tom then makes a slam dunk giving the HZR the first three points. "Incredible! The HZR starts the game off with three points!" said James. V'yuga spits out his drink to look at the scoreboard only to see that the Firebirds only have zero points.

"What the!? Argh...don't just stand there, crush them!" yelled V'yuga. "Oh you guys think you're so special with three points? Too bad, you're going to pay dearly" said Joesph. "Hehehe...I think I'm going to destroy the ginger now" said Anastasia. "I thought you were going after the Norwegian. What happened to that?" asked Nikolai. "Don't question me! I personally see the ginger weak" said Anastasia. Anastasia then leaps into the air and blocks Matt's way as he was keeping up with the HZR defense.

Matt stops before getting his arms pinned behind his back by Anastasia. "Let go of me!" yelled Matt. "You're so feisty for a self admirer" said Anastasia. Matt growls before kicking Anastasia in the shin making her yelp in pain before giving her a roundhouse kick to the face. "Woah Matthew! Who taught you to do that?" asked Hellucard. "Uhh, it was actually me who taught him that. Self defense can get you out of a situation like that" said Marcus.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Hellucard gets pushed to the side just barely catching his fall as Viktor comes running by him dribbling the ball. Marcus and Billy attempted to get the ball from him, but both of them were swiftly knocked down as Viktor lets the ball go so he can grabbed them by their collars as he forcefully pushes them down to the ground before catching the ball. Viktor makes his way to the basket as he goes for a slam dunk only to stop mid way in the air as he saw that the basket was covered in bombs shortly before exploding right in his face. "Hahaha! You got just pranked bro" said Tord. "Nice one Tord!" said Edd. Suddenly Tord gets grabbed by the shoulders by a seemly ticked off Viktor.

Before Viktor could do anything, his teeth were suddenly knocked out by bullets. The bullets actually came from both Pat and Pau were both wearing business suits with sunglasses covering their eyes as they were holding pistols in opposite hands. The two then shot at the remaining teeth that Viktor had who just stood there looking greatly confused at what was happening. Meanwhile Tom kept up with scoring points by slam dunking the ball into the basket. "The game is now at 13 - 0" said James. "This doesn't look good" said Vladimir.

"What are you talking about, we still have a chance" said Joesph. Yuu was seen with the ball while taunting Alexei as he was coming after him. Unfortunately for Alexei, Yuu trips him as Tom grabs the ball and makes another shot at the basket. "Not really" said Vladimir. As Joesph was telling at his teammates at how stupid they were, Jon was seen standing behind Vladimir with a can of paint and paintbrush. By using the paintbrush and the can of paint hat he randomly got his hands on, Jon creates a large red and white target on his butt.

"Oh, where's the bull?" asked Jon. Jon gives off thumbs up which Mark sees before getting a black bull to look up. The bull sees the target on Vladimir before snorting angrily. Mark then climbs onto the bull's back as it breaks free from a wooden pin before immediately taking charge straight towards Vladimir with its horns lowered. The rest of the Firebirds noticed the incoming bull as Vladimir wondered what his team was looking at before looking behind him as the bull hit his butt with its sharp horns. Vladimir gets lifted up in the air as he screams in pain shortly before landing in a large cooler filled entirely in Gatorade and ice.

Vladimir then quickly gets out of the cooler as he was dripping in blue Gatorade. "I AM SO GOING TO RIP THEM APART LIMB FROM LIMB!" yelled Vladimir. Without taking any chances, V'yuga calls in a timeout after seeing the scoreboard at 183 - 0 within 30 minutes of a very long game. "What is the matter with you guys? You guys are at zero points while your opponent is at 183 somehow" said V'yuga. "It's not our fault really. It seems that they have trained so hard in such a short period of time" said Nikolai. "Well what were you guys doing in that time then? What was so important for you not do your training?" asked V'yuga.

"Family and other stuff" said Anastasia. "Oh you poor innocent things. Look, I would love to chew you up and spit you all out, but we're in a serious place right now" said V'yuga. "That's the point. We're literally getting our butts kicked by a team who isn't really trying" said Vladimir. "Says the guy who landed in a cooler after getting knocked into the air by a bull. Anyway, if you want to know on how to get out of a situation like this...destroy it. That's basically all you need know" said V'yuga. "You got it boss. We'll show these fools who they're dealing with" said Joesph.

[A Couple Of Minutes Later]

Thanks to listening on what V'yuga had to say, the Firebirds turned the tide of the game back to normal and by normal, I mean by completely wiping out half of the members of the HZR. First Viktor gave both Yuu and Yanov each a punch and kick to the stomach. Pat and Pau tried their best to get passed the ruthless brute but it ended up with Pau getting his left arm sprained and Pat receiving a black eye and a lot of bruises. Nikolai was the second to give the HZR some problems. He gave Jon a swift yet small and gentle karate chop on the head which knocked him out and he nearly chocked Mark to death, but it turned out that he made him pass out. Marcus and Billy tried to stop him, but both of them got taken out by Nikolai's bionic arm within seconds.

Anastasia was the third one to deal the most damage and that was getting ahold of Tord's MP3 player and made it play Sunshine And Lollipops on full blast and on repeat. She given tied him up with rope and placed a bag over his head. Thanks to all of this, the Firebirds gotten a score of 170 before a timeout was called by Alex. The members of the HZR who were taken out by the Firebirds were seen on the benches on the sideline. Hellucard was sitting on the ground helping Tord. He managed to turn off the MP3 player, but the damage has already been done.

"How's Tord doing?" asked Edd. "Not good. Although the music has been turned off, Tord's still shaking and spilling out random nonsense" said Hellucard. "I'm a handsome boy, I'm a handsome boy. Momma, I don't want to go to school today. I want stay home and help you bake cookies. Hehehehe" said Tord. "Geez...i've never seen him like this before" said Tom. "What are you talking about? Of course you have" said Matt. "What are we going to do Mr. Smith? Most of the team has been wiped out and the Firebirds are ahead of us by three points" said Richard.

"I know that Richard. I knew that V'yuga would play dirty. He always had. You guys haven't been touched yet, which is a good sign" said Mr. Smith. "That is true, but there's only five good players left while the Firebirds have a full team of seven and you know that it's an unfair advantage" said Hellucard. "True, but you guys have skill and Richard is going to join" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah, but Richard has no skills in basketball. So far we got me, a player who can easily dodge like the wind and make dunks, we have Edward who comes with plans to ensure that we're not going to lose, and we got Matthew who runs fast like Tord, but ends getting the ball into the wrong basket" said Tom. "Hey!" said Matt. "Then we got Hellucard who's good at getting the ball down the court and is good at passing the ball to me without any trouble. Marcus and Billy are really good at playing both offense and defense, but since they are no longer in play, we're screwed" said Tom.

"Ah Thomas, you need to lighten up a bit. Who says that Marcus and Billy are out when you're looking at someone who can aid you?" asked Mr. Smith. "Wait...you can't be serious. You're in charge of the basketball season and you're the school's disciplinary teacher, so how can you help us?" asked Hellucard. "Oh you children weren't ready to know the truth, but now you are" said Mr. Smith. The remaining players of the HZR and Richard looked at Mr. Smith as he took off his shirt revealing his biggest secret. Their jaws dropped as they saw Mr. Smith's muscular body along with a tattoos covering his arms, chest, ribcage, along with a huge one on his back. The most shocking feature was that there was a large scar running diagonally across his abs.

"Oh my god...Mr. Smith...where in the world did you get muscles like those?" asked Tom. "Yeah...why? You have better tattoos than us" said Matt. "Plus, where did you get that scar from?" asked Hellucard. "In both of my high school years and my time as a teacher, I took the liberty into going out to the gym and working out. I studied many great bodybuilders over the course of nine years. Along the way I've gotten tattoos during my senior year" said Mr. Smith. "Cool! Mind telling us what tattoos you got?" asked Edd. "Sure. I have a tattoo of a yellow lion and underneath it there's an Asian Lung fighting a white tiger on my left arm. There's also a black wolf holding a sword in its mouth while there's a large green snake surrounding it on the bottom portion of it. On my right arm, there are white clouds while a waterfall can be seen coming out of the top. On the lower portion there's a ying yang. Oh, I also have a tattoo of a grey gargouille and a basilisk on my back. I even have tribal markings on my chest that ends towards my ribcage. Finally, on my neck there is a row of panther teeth that goes around. Now for the scar, I got it when I was fighting V'yuga in the battle that ended bullying" said Mr. Smith. "That's awesome!" said Hellucard.

"Your muscles are impressive, but do you even know how to play basketball?" asked Tom. "Yeah I can. I may be a bit rusty since it's been awhile, but I believe that once I get going, I'll be good" said Mr. Smith. "Okay, I guess we're all set here. Let's finish this game off strong" said Edd. "And we're back off of the second timeout. The Firebirds are still leading this with a score of 183 while the HZR are really close behind them with a score of 178. Let's see how this game is going to end off of shall we" said Jackson. "Alex, the referee, will be giving the ball to the Firebirds since it's basically theirs until the HZR steals it. Also is it just me or that the HZR has put in two other players onto the team?" asked James. "Yes it is James. As introduced earlier by Jackson, Richard Anderson has joined in for this round along with a...teacher? Uh...I've never thought to see the day" said Scott.

"Hold on a minute is that Joshua? You know the Joshua Smith the one who saved a high school from bullies? What is he doing out on the court?" asked James. "I'm not sure, but I heard that he's the head of the basketball season at Hellscape High and a disciplinary teacher" said Jackson. "What!? Why is Joshua, my mortal enemy, doing in the center of the court with the HZR!? He's supposed to be coaching not helping" said V'yuga. "It's clearly obvious that the HZR needed another player in order to make it even so that's why he joined in. If he had it his way, he would've let a member from the Psycho Wolves join in. Unfortunately that isn't the case" said Dr. Furmanov. "Tch! Whatever! No matter how much he tries, he won't be able to stop the forces of nature that is the Firebirds" said V'yuga. "Ah, what's the rush you guys? Let's play with them for awhile. There's no need to kill them off too soon" said Alexei.

"I'm tired of waiting around and honestly it's very boring. I'm now interested into killing the one with no eyes. Hey you! Would you like a candy cane?" said Anastasia. "No thank you. I'm saving my stomach for tonight's victory brunch after we win this game" said Tom. "Aw, that's too bad. YOU'RE GOING TO EAT THIS CANDY CANE AND YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE IT OR ELSE!" yelled Anastasia. Anastasia suddenly bolts forward as she charges at Tom with a small candy cane. Tom readies himself only to back up as he saw that the candy cane expanded in size as spikes popped out followed by a long curved blade appearing on its side. "Prepare to die!" yelled Anastasia as she attempted to slice Tom with the candy cane.

Anastasia makes a quick motion only to get caught by Tom who grabbed it by the bottom of the knife much to her surprise. Before she could react, Tom suddenly punches her right in the face making her fall backwards. "Whoo! Way to go Thomas" said Edd. "They've actually regained their confidence" said Vladimir. "Not if we have anything to say about it" said Joseph. "Activate Kill Confirm 16. Vortex Whirlwind Spiral Throw!" said Nikolai.

Nikolai tightens his grip on the ball before making his bionic arm explained out as it formed a spiral rotation. "Ah crap! What do we do now?" asked Hellucard. "Get out of the way, Dominic" said Mr. Smith. Hellucard gets out of the way in time as Mr. Smith somehow catches the wrist to Nikolai's bionic arm. "Edward, grab the ball!" said Mr. Smith. "You got it!" said Edd.

Edd runs over and takes the ball out of Nikolai's hand before running down the court. Vladimir attempted to block Edd which he successfully does, but Edd passes the ball to Matt. Matt goes in a zig zag like pattern as Viktor was trying to keep with them, but ends up failing before coming into conclusion in punching Matt. Mr. Smith sees this before pulling Nikolai towards him which instead only stretches out the wiring to the bionic arm causing Nikolai to trip and spin out of control as the wiring snaps. Nikolai screams seeing that he can't stop himself from spinning only to collide with Viktor. While seeing Viktor getting taken out, Matt takes the opportunity to continue running as Tom gets the ball from and shots a three point score.

"The HZR are now at 186. It's a close game now" said James. "Whoever catches the ball will be the first to lead off" said Alex. "Sounds good to me" said Nikolai. Suddenly the wires that were snapped off suddenly rebuilt his bionic arm back by gathering up the remaining circuits and a few metal parts in rapid speed. "What the? Was that regeneration?" asked Richard. "Heh, of course it was. Thanks to the technology that Dr. Furmanov has, this bionic arm is able to detect damage and would instantly repair itself like it's nothing" said Nikolai.

"I see. I guess we're doing this the hard way then" said Tom. "No matter how many times that arm of yours grows back, we will beat you" said Mr. Smith. "Foolish British people, it will be us who will become victorious" said Joseph. Alex throws the ball up in the air as Alexei attempts to catch it only to get his fingers crushed by Hellucard who caught it instead. "Aaaaah! My fingers!" yelled Alexei. "That's what you get for trying to claim that you're better. Something similar to what Eduardo would say. Also I'm not British, I'm Canadian you idiot" said Hellucard.

Hellucard runs while dribbling the ball while avoiding the other members of the Firebirds. Without any one really stopping him, Hellucard passes the ball to Matt who continues on with running. "Please don't have anyone stopping me, please don't have anyone stopping me" said Matt. Like in the world that he always wanted where he's acknowledged for his good looks, Viktor comes down from the air, landing unharmed with his fist through the floorboard to the court blocking Matt's path. Matt didn't stop running as Viktor takes this as a challenge and lifts up a fist. As Matt draws closer to him, Viktor attempted to punch Matt only to get unexpectedly punched right in his stomach.

Viktor twitches a bit before coughing up blood as Matt took a step back. "Oh sorry. You know when you about ready to strike, it kinda screamed at me "punch me right in my vulnerable area as hard as you possibly can" and to that, I sure did. You're welcome!" said Matt. Viktor slowly falls while muttering out a halfhearted "ow" before landing on the ground unconscious. As soon as Viktor hit the ground, Matt continued his journey down the court before passing the ball to Edd. Edd then dribbles the ball shortly before hitting Vladimir in the jaw with an elbow when he was trying to steal the ball. Edd kept going before seeing Alexei standing in the way. "It's all over for you. Now DIE!" said Alexei.

Suddenly Alexei gasps out just before falling to the ground revealing Tom who was standing behind him the whole time. "What are you waiting for? Mr. Smith's waiting for the ball to be passed to him" said Tom. "Oh yeah right" said Edd. Edd continues running down the court just in time to see Richard blowing a karate chop right in the back of Joseph's head. "Nice one Richard. I wasn't expecting you to be a fighter" said Edd. "Don't thank me, thank my brothers and yourself" said Richard.

Edd smiles before running again and passing the ball to Mr. Smith. Mr. Smith runs to the basket before attempting to go for a slam dunk as Nikolai jumps to block the shot, unfortunately for him, Mr. Smith makes the shot successful along with breaking Nikolai's bionic arm again. Once the ball goes through the net the crowd cheers. "And just like that the HZR have beaten the Firebirds by 189 - 186! The HZR wins! The HZR wins!" said James. "We did it! We actually won!" said Tom. "We sure did considering the fact that we pretty took out the members of the Firebirds" said Hellucard.

"Wow, Mr. Smith! That was an amazing slam dunk!" said Edd. "Thanks Edward! It has been a pleasure playing with you" said Mr. Smith. "How is this possible!? We were in the lead the whole time in this round" said V'yuga. "Uhh...my guesses are that you shouldn't had the Firebirds wipe out most of the opposing team" said Dr. Furmanov. "No, it's because of Joshua. That's it! Release the beast" said V'yuga. "B...But he's not ready" said Dr. Furmanov.

"I don't care! I said release the beast. That's an order!" yelled V'yuga. "Yes sir" said Dr. Furmanov. V'yuga stands up and proceeds to go out onto the court. Once reaching to the court of where the HZR are currently at, Dr. Furmanov comes right beside V'yuga. "So Joshua, I see that you're still muscular. I thought you'd be nothing but fat after all these years" said V'yuga. "V'yuga, you've lost. Now take your team and get out of here. Also restore the temperature everywhere back to normal and leave everyone alone" said Mr. Smith.

"Ah, I was going to do that, but just wanted to congratulate you. I see that you still have that scar that I gave you" said V'yuga. "Yeah...face it V'yuga, after this there will be no more of us encountering each other again. As soon as you leave, I want you out of my sight for good" said Mr. Smith. "So that's how it's going to be? I would love to say my goodbyes to you, but I brought a little present" said V'yuga. Before Mr. Smith could respond, out of nowhere a green skinned, zombified version of Eduardo came running out to the HZR shortly before getting pulled back by a chain that is apart of a collar that's seen around his neck. "Oh my god! Is that Eduardo?" asked Hellucard. "Ewww...why does he so look disgusting?" asked Matt.

"What did you do to him!?" asked Edd. "Oh, he was brought to my laboratory just so I can test something out on him. It turns out one of my serums turned him into a zombie" said Dr. Furmanov. "Hey, what's with the metal parts covering some parts of his body?" asked Tom. "Those things? I placed some cybernetic body parts on him so his flesh wouldn't decomposed since zombie flesh usually starts to rot away" said Dr. Furmanov. "Ivan, how could you do this to him and V'yuga, you've promised that after the game that you would unfreeze Eduardo from being trapped within ice. What happened to that?" asked Mr. Smith. "Oh, I've gotten a bit bored from waiting. So why not have fun with him? Plus I love torturing my victims before they meet a grim fate" said V'yuga.

"You monster! You'll pay for this!" yelled Edd. "Hahaha! I had enough of this nonsense. It's been nice knowing you, now die upon the hands of the Bringer of Winter, V'yuga!" said V'yuga. "One more thing, I've even placed a serum into your friend which makes him obey my every command without fail. You heard what your master said, attack my creation!" said Dr. Furmanov. V'yuga lets the chain loose enough for Eduardo to attack his former friends. Eduardo lunges forward at the closest person, which was Edd, and attempted to take a swipe at him. Edd manages to dodge the attack, but ends up falling to the ground. Edd then braces himself as he prepares to get ripped apart by Eduardo; however, nothing came which made him very confused.

Edd then looks up to see Eduardo down at his level only to be looking at him. "Huh? He just stopped" said Edd. "What are you doing!? We gave you a direct order" said V'yuga. "Oh dear...it's seems that Eduardo may still have his five senses" Dr. Furmanov. "What!?" yelled V'yuga. "Hey Edward, I think when Eduardo attempted to attack you, he must of smelt you. So that's why he stopped because he remembered who you are" said Matt.

"Say what now? I don't think that's true Matthew. If he was able to smell Edward, then he would remember how much he hated him" said Tom. "Remember? That's it! Thomas, you're a genius. Eduardo does remember me" said Edd. "Hey, it was me who figured it out first" said Matt. "Yeah you did. I'll try reasoning with him. Hey Eduardo, it's good to see you again. I'm glad that you're fine, well wouldn't say fine, but you're still alive somehow. Isn't that great?" asked Edd. Eduardo lets out a small grunt before noticing that Jon and Mark on the bench as a nurse was treating them both. Eduardo let's out a sadden groan at the sight of them.

Eduardo then sees the chain along with taking a hand into feeling that there was a collar around his neck. Eduardo gritted his teeth a bit at it before turning his attention into following where the chain went before seeing V'yuga holding onto it. Eduardo then lets out a growl before running towards V'yuga as he harshly bit at his arm. V'yuga yells in pain at the impact of Eduardo's teeth sinking into his own skin. He manages to get Eduardo away from him just so he can take off his heavy coat. Without his coat on, V'yuga had a very muscular build and was seen wearing navy blue pants. "Hey V'yuga! We have some unfinished business to do" said Mr. Smith.

"You sure bet we do. You know...I should've killed you a longtime ago, but now I can actually do it right here, right now" said V'yuga. "You got it! I'm going to beat you with only one hand" said Mr. Smith. "Oh yeah? Well I'm going to block that hand and punch you directly in the face" said V'yuga. V'yuga takes his helmet off revealing short tannish brown hair as got into a fighting position. V'yuga then braces himself as he saw Mr. Smith taking charge at him at full speed while forming a fist. "Flaming Phoenix Lion Fist!" yelled Mr. Smith.

What V'yuga didn't expect to see was a golden lion coming out from behind Mr. Smith as the lion pierced through V'yuga's stomach causing a large hole to appear. Shortly afterwards small flames started to appear, forming a phoenix as it comes out of the hole in V'yuga and wraps itself around his body. V'yuga screams in agony as the phoenix then takes him out of the coliseum by going through it non existent dome and up towards the night sky. Once up high in the air above the city skyline, the phoenix increases its speed as it made its way out of the earth's atmosphere and heads straight towards the blazing sun. Instead of just plunging V'yuga on the side of sun's fiery surface, the phoenix goes right through the sun's core causing V'yuga to burn up within seconds. "JOSHUA! AAAAAAHHH! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!" screamed V'yuga. After saying his final words of exact revenge, V'yuga eventually get reduced to a crisp leaving nothing of him behind, expect for his ashes. Back on earth, everyone in the stands cheered indicating the end of the Firebirds and the death of V'yuga as a whole. Dr. Furmanov who've witnessed V'yuga's death only shook his head before he and the Firebirds made their escape.

"Woah, Mr. Smith, that was incredible. Also nice muscles you got there" said Marcus. "Marcus, you're okay" said Edd. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be? Besides I couldn't help but not to miss out on the awesome firework display" said Marcus. "We definitely became the superior ones" said Billy. "Yeah! I finally get to see my beautiful self on the cover of a magazine and news after this" said Matt. "So what's next?" asked Hellucard.

"We're heading back to the hotel just so we can rest. We will be eventually heading back to the UK as soon as everything gets settled. Thanks to you everyone around the world can sleep peacefully knowing that there's a team who've saved the day" said Mr. Smith. "Awesome! I would like to correct that crazy scientist guy, that it's zombeh not zombie" said Edd. "Zombeh? There's a zombeh here? Where?" asked Billy. "Oh yeah, you weren't probably up for this, but a scientist who's apart of the Firebirds turned Eduardo into a zombeh. He even claimed to have put a serum that would control his mind, but it turns out that Eduardo was able to come back to his senses once he smelt me" said Edd. "Oh I see. Does he remember any of us?" asked Billy. "I think he does. I don't know, you might want to check" said Edd.

"I'll probably do that tomorrow, but for now, which one of us are going to let him stay in our room?" asked Billy. "Obviously not me. I haven't forgiven him yet" said Marcus. "Neither have I" said Billy. "Don't look at me. I'm not taking him with me" said Matt. "Uh, I'm not too sure about his diet. Does he eat brains and human flesh or what? So far, it's a no for me" said Tom. "Alright. I've decided that since none of you want him to stay with you for the night, I'll be the one that will take him, he'll be either on the floor that's far away from me" said Edd.

"So it's settled then" said Tom. Edd goes over to the end of the chain and picks it up which alarms Eduardo into snarling at him. "Hey! Take it easy, Eduardo. Everything's okay now. I'm just letting you know that V'yuga's dead so you won't have to deal with him anymore" said Edd. Eduardo gave Edd a look which was a sign of him remembering who V'yuga was before letting out a low growl. "Yeah I know. You hate his guts and so do I, but he's gone now and so is that scientist guy" said Edd. Eduardo makes small happy noises as he heard that V'yuga was dead, but quickly stops to angrily grumble at the thought of Dr. Furmanov. Edd smiles a bit at this. "Heh, looks like it's going to take awhile for you to remember on how to speak with actual words and not just grunts" said Edd. "Speaking of Eduardo gaining his memories back, you might want to wait awhile for Jon and Mark to recover. After that you can tell them what happened. Otherwise they would freak out once they see Eduardo, especially Jon" said Mr. Smith. "Oh I see. I can wait awhile" said Edd.


	28. Long Live The King - (Chap 27)

A stage was the view of the moment of where Mr. Beethoven was seen along with a band on it. He turned to look at the audience before turning to his string orchestra. The orchestra member readied themselves as Mr. Beethoven lifted up his arms before conducting them. The music that they were playing was Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and it was quite enjoyable to listen. Not far from the stage was table that had both Edd and Laurel sitting at. "His band is pretty good" said Edd. "I know. Did you even knew that Mr. Beethoven's name was actually Wolfgang? He's named after the famous musician Wolfgang Mozart. That's pretty cool if you think about it" said Laurel.

"Yeah it is, but Mr. Smith told me that it's his stage name and his middle name" said Edd. "Really? What's his name actually?" asked Laurel. "Well according to the report card if you have him as a teacher, his name would be Gilbert. It was also revealed that Mr. Beethoven's a descent of Ludwig van Beethoven" said Edd. "No way! That's incredible!" said Laurel. "Indeed it is. Anyway, I would like to thank you for agreeing to go on a date with me" said Edd. "No, you should be thanking my mom. She reserved a spot at the most expensive yet one of the most fanciest restaurants in all of London and the UK" said Laurel.

"Well she did insist on me taking you out to dinner, but I thought she was going to invite me over to a banquet after we graduate" said Edd. "Oh she is. She just wanted to congratulate you on staying in one piece for your match against those Firebirds" said Laurel. "Yeah...I thought they were supposed to be ruthless but in the end they were weak" said Edd. "So...how did things go down before and during the events of it anyway?" asked Laurel. "Oh where do I even begin? Heh, I guess I can start with the moment when Mr. Smith's old enemy from his high school days came back" said Edd. "Please do tell do me all of it" said Laurel. And with that, Edd started talking about everything that happened as they were being served.

[Graduation]

At Hellscape High was a special day today. It was the day of honoring the students who've passed each and every class, the good old fashioned graduation, well dedication. Mr. Smith was seen in his office putting on his black honor robes. Once he was finished, he went over to his desk and picked up a picture frame. He then places onto his wall and looks at with a smile on his face. The picture that was displayed was him standing in the middle with the members of the HZR all shirtless, showing off their tattoos. Edd was seen right next to him holding a large golden trophy in his arms. The door opens revealing Dr. Benzschawel who was his in robes as well.

"Ah Roderich, what are you doing here?" asked Mr. Smith. "Oh I just came here to see if you got your robes on and you do, which is good. Technically Phil sent me here to tell you that everyone is waiting in the lounge" said Dr. Benzschawel. "I see. I'm all ready to go. We can head down there now" said Mr. Smith. Both Mr. Smith and Dr. Benzschawel left Mr. Smith's office and proceed to walk to the staff lounge. Along the way, they've talked for a bit. "Are you nervous?" asked Dr. Benzschawel.

"No, I am not. How 'bout you?" asked Mr. Smith. "Nah, I'm good. Are you going to miss some of these students that are graduating today?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "I'm actually supposed to be one to ask that question since you're a teacher with a large class, but I guess yes. I mean I was the head of the basketball season and that I will be missing my star students a lot" said Mr. Smith. "You mean Edward and his friends? I'm going to miss them as well. They were such good fine students. They never got into any trouble" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Well Eduardo did until he realized his mistakes and got the help that he needed" said Mr. Smith. "Yeah, I won't forget about him and his antics. Say, how is Eduardo anyway? I haven't seen him in a longtime" said Dr. Benzschawel.

"Roderich, I told you many times when we got back from Brazil. Eduardo got turned into a full living zombeh by Dr. Furmanov or better known as Ivan" said Mr. Smith. "I know, I know. I was kidding. God, I hate that Ivan guy. He's always been trying to prove that he's the more better scientist than me. Do you even know about his current whereabouts?" asked Dr. Benzschawel. "No. The last time, I saw him was during the match. He might of escaped punishment with the Firebirds shortly after V'yuga's death" said Mr. Smith. "I see. I'm sure he'll be caught someday" said Dr. Benzschawel. After a couple of minutes of walking, the two old friends made it to the staff lounge where the rest of the teachers were at. "It's about time you two showed up. What were you doing? Fixing your noses in the bathroom or something?" asked Mr. Fisher.

"No Jim, we were just coming from my office to here" said Mr. Smith. "Are you sure about that? You boys sure love to take your sweet time on stuff" said Mrs. Brown. "That's a lie, Debbie and you know that" said Dr. Benzschawel. "Hey! Stop arguing you two. This isn't the time nor the place for this. Today is a very day, so try to act civil" said Mr. Peterson. "You guys be quiet! I can't count on how many diplomas there are when you're just yapping like small dogs" said Sir Wozniacki. "Sorry Phil" said Dr. Benzschawel.

After awhile the diplomas were counted for in the correct right number as Principal Brown came in to practice his speech right in front of teachers. Apparently, he wasn't that quite prepared to give it out, but in his 10th attempt, he managed to get it right. After the speech was given, some of the teachers, well just Mr. Fisher was left in tears. Principal Brown then noticed that Mr. Fisher was wearing nothing but gym shorts along with a sleeveless tuxedo to which Mr. Fisher told him that it was just for show. 30 minutes later, the staff of Hellscape High were ready to go outside and onto the stage to start graduation. Like in every graduation, Mr. Beethoven is always the first one to be seen on the stage conducting the school band.

After Principal Brown exchanged a few words to Mr. Beethoven everything was set. The parents and family members of those who were graduating all came and sat down as Mr. Beethoven was having the band perform some random song. Once all of the chairs were filled, Principal Brown gets up and goes over to the state podium that faces towards the crowd. "Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I'm glad that you all could get the time to come here on this special day. Yep! Today marks the end of your starring student's era of high school and marks the beginning of a whole new chapter. It's graduation" said Principal Brown. Before he could on to his speech, trumpets were heard as everyone turned their attention to Matt who was wearing a crown on his head a long royal red cape. "What the?" said Principal Brown.

"Greetings fellow subjects, it is I, your brave leader along with his noble knights from the chess club and drama club. You should know who I am, but if you don't, I'm King Matthew Harrison the Prom King, the Drama King, and the King of Good Looks. Nobody can resist my charm" said Matt. All the members of the chess and drama clubs all bent the knee to Matt shortly before Matt gets pushed to side by Tord who carrying a beatbox that was playing music. Tord dances around for a bit shortly before his beatbox gets a harpoon pierced through one of its speakers as it gets knocked off of his shoulder. "My beatbox...I was going to do some serious dance moves yo" said Tord. "Sorry, but nobody wants to hear that crap" said Tom as he walked passed Tord. Tom removed his harpoon from Tord's destroyed beatbox and puts in a carrying container that was scrapped to his back.

He then looks at one of the clocks that was around his neck as he fixed his captains hat. "Anyway...sorry for the interruption, but make way for Dominic" said Tom. Everyone who was in the middle aisle got out of the way as Hellucard stormed in with glow sticks that were around his neck, arms, and hands. Hellucard performs a light show amazing the kids that were there before Marcus and Billy came in wearing business suits and sunglasses walking all gangster style. The two stopped as pulled out flare guns and fired them which caused fireworks to come out of them and headed up towards the sky. Marcus and Billy kept firing them till the words "Happy graduation, Class of 2024" appeared that was filled with colors which wowed the crowd.

Thanks to the crowd getting warmed up to seeing the fireworks, this was a cue for Edd to run down the aisle while dribbling the basketball that Corey gave to him. The plan that he set was to make a slam dunk at the basket that was on the stage away from the teachers. So far, Edd was making good progress, getting closer and closer to make that one perfect shot. Unfortunately his performance came crashing down once Mr. Fisher blew his whistle loud and hard causing Edd to stop. "Thank you Jim. Now then, what are you boys doing?" asked Principal Brown. "Oh, uh, we were just performing" said Edd.

"Performing for what?" asked Principal Brown. "It's supposed to be us performing a halftime show for graduation" said Tom. "Are you out of your minds?" asked Principal Brown. Mr. Smith suddenly gets up and heads to the podium as Principal Brown got out of the way. "Ah boys, you do realize that Principal Brown was giving a speech, right?" asked Mr. Smith. "Yeah and it was a perfect time to come in and do our performance" said Hellucard.

"But he wasn't done yet" said Mr. Smith. "Oh. Whoops. Hehe...can we still do the performance?" asked Edd. "No, you cannot" said Sir Wozniacki as he came over to the podium. "Aww...guess we can't do that magic trick you guys" said Pat. Yanov drops his golden magic rings onto the ground in disappointment. "Bummer, we were so going to throw pies at Eduardo's face" said Mark.

A kid who was sitting in a row close to a view of Jon, Mark, and Eduardo suddenly got a chill scare as they saw Eduardo's prosthetic pinkie fall off as they mistakenly thought it as an actual finger. The kid also saw Eduardo bending down to receive his prosthetic before trying to put it back on which was making him grit his teeth in frustration revealing the bottom part of his jaw that was stained in blood. "Zombeh!" screamed the kid. This made everyone in all of the rows scramble away screaming. "No! Don't run away! He's a good zombeh. He only eats flesh when he's angry" said Jon. Despite Jon's reasonings this still didn't help the fact that everyone kept screaming once they've heard that Eduardo eats flesh.

"Everyone calm down! Sorry Eduardo if I sounded a bit harsh when I say this, but I know that there's a flesh eating zombeh here, but he's still a student regardless of his current state. Now go back to your seats so we can continue" said Mr. Smith. Everyone listened and came back to their seats while eyeing Eduardo cautiously. "Thank you. Now you boys go back in the line with others" said Mr. Smith. "Uhh Josh..." said Mr. Beethoven as he came over to the podium. Mr. Beethoven starts whispering in Mr. Smith's ear. "Really? Are you sure? Oh, well okay then. Nevermind. Eh...change of plans, you need to stay here all in one full line" said Mr. Smith.

"So everyone's marching in?" asked Pau. "Yes and you're leading the first row" said Mr. Smith. Everyone lines up in a straight line as Mr. Smith sat down before Mr. Beethoven turns to the band and conducts them into performing Pop and Circumstance. This was a cue for all the graduates to come marching as the HZR lead the first row up front. After a couple of minutes the rows were filled with students as Mr. Smith made a motion for all them to sit down as the song ended. Mr. Smith stands up to the podium.

"Okay, so the first part of the ceremony was...a little interesting, but it's all fixed. Without a future ado, I would like the members of the HZR to come up onto the stage" said Mr. Smith. Everyone cheers and claps as the members of the HZR stood up and went onto the stage. "You see these guys? These nice young men? They were the ones who've started the basketball season and kept up to that promise to serve Hellscape High. I would like to take the time to let our leader and of the captain of the team to come to the podium. Edward Goldenstein, please come and talk to your fellow peers" said Mr. Smith. Everyone claps as Edd walked over to the podium.

"Wow, I've never really expected to come up here and give you all a speech, but hey, I'm special here aren't I? Haha! Anyway, I spent four long years at a school like Hellscape High. There were many ups and there were many downs, but I've managed to over pass them entirely. When I first came here, I wasn't expecting anything. Back then, I was considered to be weak by my father while my mother, well she cared about me. Times were tough, but there was one person who came into my life. His name was Corey Anderson, the older bother to Richard Anderson along with his other three brothers, Arthur, Allistor, and Seamus Anderson. He was a nice young man, very talented and very smart. I looked up to him and he even taught me how to play basketball. I owe him my life. Unfortunately, I've discovered something really dark about him. You see, he suffered from bi polar depression and he ended up taking his own life right before my eyes. More to that, I've lost my parents in a house explosion. Luckily I had my uncle and cousin, who's technically my brother now. Their names are Anthony and Alex Goldenstein. They took me in and feed me well. For the basketball season, I was excited to join because I wanted to keep a promise to Corey to get stronger. Along the way, I've formed my own team with my friends, created a relationship with another team who had the same problems with bullying as I did, made the first love of my life with a beautiful young woman, made an enemy who became my friend. You all know who I'm talking about" said Edd.

Eduardo gives Edd a small look before turning away while letting out a small "meh". "That is a lot I know, but it gets better. I've took inspiration from one of the best teams ever and even went to their home place only to get rejected for training, received an entire workout schedule by a member from that said best team ever, gained muscles and gotten cool tattoos, played in a game that mattered between life and death, nearly had my best players and friend taken out in one round, I even got the chance to play with Richard and the one and only, Mr. Smith, defeated winter, and saved the world. And you know how I did all of this? Do you really want to know? It's all because of you guys. You guys were the motivation and I've couldn't done without you. Thank you!" said Edd. Everyone stood up and cheered as they threw flowers at Edd. "You heard him folks! I would like to announce that Team Hellscape Zombeh Rangers will be all given a basketball scholarship and free college credits for their first year at Tri-Star Community College in Beverly Hills, California" said Mr. Smith. "Yay, we're going to college together!" said Tord. "Oh yeah! More people for me to show that I'm fabulous" said Matt.

The HZR were given their scholarships, medals, and diplomas by Principal Brown as they all shook hands him with him before shaking hands with the rest of the teachers. Soon afterwards the rest of the students that were in the same row as them stood up and proceeded to walk across the stage as each of their names were called. After awhile, everyone had their rewards and were sitting as Principal Brown finished his interrupted yet powerful and tear jerking speech. "And once again thank you the parents for letting your amazing student attend Hellscape High. Congratulations Class of 2024!" said Principal Brown. "And before all stand up, long live Edward Dylan Goldenstein, the basketball king and the god of hoops" said Mr. Smith. Everyone raised as the graduates all threw their hats up into the air once they saw Mr. Smith placing a crown on Edd's head. "Thank you so much Mr. Smith" said Edd. "And that's not all. I also got you this" said Mr. Smith. Edd watches Mr. Smith walk over his chair before pulling out a brown box and walks back to him. "What's in the box?" asked Edd. "Open it and see for yourself" said Mr. Smith. Edd opens the box which made him give off a look of surprise.

"You...You can't be serious right? Please tell me your joking" said Edd. "Oh Edward, since when do I lie. I actually got you a Future Edd cosplay, sunglasses included along with the pistol" said Mr. Smith. Edd picks up the pistol and by putting finger at its side, it transformed into a laser pistol. "Oh my god this is so cool! I love it!" said Edd. "You're welcome Edward. I was thinking if you want, we can come together and reenact WTFuture" said Mr. Smith. "Oh, it would be my pleasure. It's so on" said Edd.

[In The Catacombs Under London]

The members of the Firebirds were all seen in steel tight bunker underneath the city of London that is surrounded in a maze of catacombs. It turns out that they busy with their daily treatments of covering up their wounds. "What's taking that scientist so long to get back here?" asked Alexei. "Have patience for my father Alexei. He said that he'll be getting more first aid for our wounds" said Joseph. "It shouldn't take him this long to come back though" said Alexei.

"What did I just say? Knowing my father, he's probably getting scrap parts in order to fully restore V'yuga's body despite him being reduced to nothing thanks to the sun" said Joesph. "Well if that's the case then, I'm leaving" said Anastasia. "Leaving!? To where exactly?" asked Vladimir. "Outside of this cold and uneasy catacomb like system. It's getting dull and boring" said Anastasia. Anastasia walks away from her team and heads over to the safe like door. She puts in the code and opens it, before suddenly slamming it shut as she ran back to her teammates.

"What the!? Why did you slam the door?" asked Nikolai. "I...I'm not going out there" said Anastasia. "And why not? I thought you wanted to go outside" said Nikolai. "S..Shut up! You didn't see that right?" asked Anastasia. "See what? It must be your imagination. Nobody knows, expect for Dr. Furmanov, that we're here" said Vladimir. "Oh really? Do you mind telling us how we've managed to track you down?" asked Mark.

The Firebirds looked up at a lookout that was placed to study the chamber only to see the light turn on revealing both Jon and Mark. "You two. What are you doing here and how did you find this place?" asked Joseph. "Oh...a little birdie told us" said Mark. "Hehehe...now that we got you trapped where we wanted, it's time for a little payback" said Jon. "Payback? For what?" asked Nikolai. "Oh you know what we've meant. We want you to pay for what you did to Eduardo" said Mark.

"Oh that? I'm surprised that he didn't kill you like he was supposed to. What a waste of a squealer" said Alexei. "We figured you would say that, so that's why Eduardo's going to come after you" said Jon. "Heh! Good luck with that. While in that zombie state he can't do anything like he would when he was still human. Plus he can't even use brute strength on a steel tight door" said Joesph. "Who said anything about brute strength?" asked Jon. Before Joesph could counter on what Jon said, he along with the Firebirds suddenly smelt something gross like acid as they got a rude awakening when they saw the door to the chamber slowly melt away. Once the door was left in a melted, twisted pile of steel, Eduardo stepped into the chamber.

"What!? How...How did he do that!?" yelled Vladimir. "You should be thanking your scientist friend for making Eduardo a viable tool for situations like this. Plus the abilities that he gained in this state gives him inhuman speed and strength, high endurance, a resistance to fire, enhanced senses such as smell, and it gives him the ability to spit out acid that is strong enough to melt through solid objects in a matter of seconds" said Mark. "That's a bunch of bull!" said Joseph. "Hey Joseph, I just remembered something. Even though he may have gained abilities like this, his mindset is still zombie like. What this means is that Eduardo won't be able to attack us unless we convince him not to" said Nikolai. "You know, for a guy with a bionic arm you sure don't know when you're wrong. It's a shame that I'm going end you life right now" said Eduardo. "He talks!? That's impossible!" yelled Alexei.

"Of course I do. Well, I technically didn't, but thanks to a good old enemy of mine, I've actually remembered a bunch of things. I'm doing this is for you...Edd. Now which one of you wants to die first?" asked Eduardo. Eduardo walks up slowly to the Firebirds as they crowed up against a wall. "Stay away from us you monster!" yelled Nikolai. Nikolai takes out a sword and charges at Eduardo with it as he ends up stabbing it through his stomach. Eduardo reacts to this as he immediately bit at Nikolai's good arm before pushing him away. "Ow! My good arm! Why you- ahhhh! My skin is literally melting!" screamed Nikolai.

Viktor starts treating Nikolai's arm as he took a look at it to see green boiling acid on it. Viktor then puts a cloth strong enough to stop his skin from melting away completely. "Well guess somebody made their decision" said Eduardo. Eduardo takes the moment to remove the sword that was in his stomach. Once the sword was removed, the skin that was covering his stomach along with some exposed flesh suddenly closed up. "He can regenerate!?" yelled Anastasia.

"Oh...I thought that being in this state was a bad thing at first, but I'm starting to like it. Now before I kill you all for calling me a monster, I just want to tell you that it's zombeh. With that out of the way, I'm going to show you how mindless I can be" said Eduardo. Eduardo pauses for moment before letting out a snarl before charging at the Firebirds who all screamed and held on to each other for dear life.

[At The Beach]

The rest of the HZR went to the beach which was sunny without a single cloud in the sky. "Man, what a beautiful day to be at the beach" said Tord. "You can say that again, it's great to see no disturbance in the climate" said Tom. "So Edward, what are going to do here? Are we going swimming or something?" asked Pau. "No, we're not. Marcus, Billy, and I were talking about this for weeks and came to a conclusion to play basketball at the beach's basketball court, shirtless" said Edd. "Ah I see" said Pau.

"Care to join us?" asked Edd. "We would like to, but we're not going to be playing, we will be keeping score though" said Pat. "Oh, okay. Hey guys! There's a basketball court here, care to play some basketball?" asked Edd. "Yeah I guess we can" said Hellucard. "Alright it's settled then" said Edd. Edd, Marcus, and Billy took off the shirts showing off their tattoos and muscles with pride before noticing that Tord already ran off to the court with Tom running after him alongside with Matt and Hellucard.

"Haha! Last one to the court gets to destroy Susan" said Tord. "Hey! Last one to the court gets to blast Sunshine and Lollipops right in Tord's ear" said Tom. "Well...I guess they couldn't hold in their excitement" said Billy. "Yeah but at least it's something" said Edd. "What are we still standing here for? Let's go play some b-ball" said Marcus. With that Edd, Marcus, and Billy took off running towards the court.

Once getting there, they were spilt by three separate teams (Marcus and Billy, Matt and Tom, and finally, Tord, Edd, and Hellucard) as Yanov stood in the center between them with the ball. "Ready...set...GO!" said Yanov as he threw the ball into the air. Without a surprise Marcus catches the ball first instead of Tord and ran to the basket while the others followed closely behind him. Meanwhile in a large enough distance from court was a man with brown hair and a beard wearing a black jacket and a green hoodie. The man had dark circles surrounding his eyes. He watched Edd and his friends play basketball as he took cover by hiding in a couple of bushes on a cliff.

"Hmm...so this is what the universe where basketball is the main focus is like. It's so...bizarre to be honest. Huh? What's this?" asked the man. The man sees a tall person that looks similar to him but without a beard and was seen wearing a jersey, joining in the game. "Ah, this must be this universe's version of me. Wow, he's so muscular and doesn't look depressed at all. It appears that he must of given up his urge to drink cola in order to be active. It's pretty impressive if you were to ask me" said the man. Suddenly beeping sounds were heard as the man looks at his arm revealing that there was a some sort of device on his wrist. "Duty calls for me to leave. Very well then. Farewell alternate universe me's or should I call you both Edward and Future Edward. It's time for me the original Edd or should I say Future Edd, to head back to my actual universe. I hope we can meet again someday. Who knows, I might get to see a version of me doing paranormal investigating that involves catching ghosts. Now that would be just plain weird, yet cool at the same time" said Future Edd. Future Edd stands up before pressing a button on the device causing a bright light to appear before surrounding him as he vanishes into thin air.

~The End~


End file.
